Achieving higher strength in Cu-Ag-Zr alloy by warm/hot rolling

High-strength Cu-3Ag-0.5Zr alloy plates were produced by multi-pass rolling in the temperature range of 500-800 A degrees C. An increase in strength was observed by rolling in the aforementioned range without significant loss in ductility. All the rolled samples show higher strength than solution-treated and aged samples. The maximum strength was observed for plates rolled at 500 A degrees C with a yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of 311 and 385 MPa, respectively, and retaining a ductility of 23 %. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies showed uniform distribution of fine silver precipitates and high dislocation density in the rolled samples. Nevertheless, the size of precipitates and dislocation density varied with the rolling temperature. The superior strength achieved in the rolled samples is attributed to grain refinement, dislocation strengthening, and precipitation hardening. This method can be employed to produce high-strength plates of precipitation hardenable copper alloys.