The precipitation reactions responsible for age hardening in a high-conductivity Cu-Cr-Zr-Mg alloy have been investigated by analytical transmission electron microscopy and compared briefly with the processes that occur in simpler Cu-Cr and Cu-Cr-Mg alloys. Aging at low temperatures (400°C) results in the formation of Guinier-Preston zones. Peak hardness, obtained by aging for 24 h at 450°C, is found to be a result of the fine scale precipitation of an ordered compound, possibly of the Heusler type, with the suggested composition CrCu 2 (Zr, Mg). Overaging results in the formation of coarse precipitates of Cr and CU4Zr. The intergranular precipitate which forms in the Cu-Cr-Zr-Mg alloy is Cu 4 Zr. This phase precipitates both as discrete particles on the grain boundaries and as thin ('" 5 nm) continuous intergranular films. MST/89
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