Synergistic Enhancement of Strength, Plasticity, and Electrical Conductivity in Cu–3Ti Alloy: Process Optimization and Mechanism Analysis
Cu–Ti alloy has excellent mechanical properties and high‐temperature stability. It is an ultra‐high‐strength, environmentally friendly copper alloy that serves as a substitute for Cu–Be alloys. However, high‐strength copper titanium alloy (strength > 1000 MPa) generally has low conductivity (<20% international annealed copper standard (IACS)) and poor elongation (about 6%). This study utilizes an integrated approach of aging, cold rolling, and subsequent aging to develop a Cu–3Ti alloy with a balanced combination of high strength, superior electrical conductivity, and enhanced plasticity. The alloy achieves high strength, with a tensile strength of 1043 MPa and a yield strength of 1017 MPa, while also exhibiting excellent electrical conductivity (24.13%IACS) and elongation (10%). Transmission electron microscopy analysis demonstrates that the abundant presence of β ′‐Cu 4 Ti precipitation phases, combined with dense dislocation networks in the Cu–3Ti alloy matrix, plays a crucial role in enhancing its mechanical performance. The emergence of β ′‐Cu 4 Ti phases induces Ti depletion in the copper solid solution, thereby suppressing lattice distortion‐induced carrier scattering. The dominant strengthening mechanism is identified as Orowan bypassing mechanism. Through thermodynamic analysis, a modified Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov model is formulated to describe precipitation kinetics and an activation energy of Q = 60 kJ mol −1 determined via Arrhenius equation fitting.
Authors
- Xiangyang Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4897-9209)
- Yanmin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3255-7976)
- Feiyue Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1957-996X)
- Zhen Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6191-9967)
- Yanfang Ma
- Kexing Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0958-2014)
- Zhou Shi-Kang
- Yingchao Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9343-7388)
- Jiang Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1237-0901)
Institutions
- Henan University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Henan Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Henan University of Engineering (CN)
- Luoyang Cement Engineering Design and Research Institute (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Engineering Materials
- Published
- 2025-07-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.202500841
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Aluminum Alloys Composites Properties
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.71
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China