Heat Treatment and Microstructural Contrasting on Low-Alloy Copper-Based Alloys

Copper is a material used in a wide range of applications. The combination of electrical conductivity and mechanical strength is a feature which is especially important when it comes to conductive and contact materials. This combination of properties in low-alloy copper-based alloys can be achieved when the material is subjected to a thermomechanical treatment consisting of rolling and annealing. Samples of the alloy CuNi1.5Si0.3 were taken at distinctive steps of the industrial manufacturing process for semi-finished products in order to examine the influence of the manufacturing parameters on the microstructure during solution annealing, rolling, and aging. The sample material for the respective chosen conditions was aged in the laboratory at various temperatures. Quasi-static tensile tests were performed, the electrical conductivity was determined, the microhardness was measured, and the microstructure was examined on metallographic sections in order to characterize the material conditions.