Effect of Plastic Deformation on the Proof Strength and Electrical Conductivity of Copper-Magnesium Supersaturated Solid-Solution Alloys

The influences of plastic deformation on the proof strength and electrical conductivity of Copper-Magnesium (Cu-Mg) supersaturated solid-solution alloys are investigated and compared to results obtained for pure copper and conventional binary solid-solution copper alloys. Supersaturated Cu-Mg required cold rolling to only a quarter of the equivalent strain (epsilon = 0.65) of conventional alloys (epsilon = 2.66) to obtain the same proof strength and electrical conductivity. Furthermore, when cold-rolled to epsilon = 2.66, Cu-Mg exhibited an electrical conductivity 2.5 times higher than that of conventional alloys, while retaining comparable proof strength.