Microstructure and mechanical evolution of Cu-2.7Be sheets via annealing

Abstract

The microstructure and mechanical properties of cold-rolled Cu-2.7Be sheets under various annealing processes and conditions were investigated in this research. The increased beryllium content in the Cu-2.7Be alloy facilitates the formation of brittle secondary phases. Consequently, the study highlights the functionality of annealed Cu-2.7Be alloys as more favorable dynodes than the traditionally used Cu-2.0Be alloys. The mechanism of recrystallization used for the transformation of Cu-2.7Be alloys was that of continuous static recrystallization (cSRX). Moreover, the relationship between the orientation of the β phases and that of the surrounding Cu-matrix was determined to be (111)α∥(110)β and (011)α∥(001)β. The β phase has a body-centered cubic (bcc) structure with a = b = c = 0.281 nm. The β phase undergoes a morphology transformation from primitive lath-shaped β particles to quadrangle-shaped β particles during the annealing process. Such transformations could potentially have an effect on the mechanical properties of Cu-2.7Be sheets. There was a noticeable decline in the yield strength of the Cu-2.7Be after annealing, and the samples annealed at 770 °C for 15 min achieved the elongation with deep and uniform dimples caused by suitable β particle sizes, appropriate grain sizes, and the maximum volume fraction of ∑3 boundaries.