The new high strength high electrical conductivity materials are demanded for advanced electric applications. Among them Cu-Ag and Cu-Nb wires are promising materials for generators of strong and variable magnetic fields production. Review of selected results of the studies into Cu-Ag and Cu-Nb based composite materials shows presence of various, not always well explained, mechanisms and phenomena which are observed during their production, examination and applications. Two classical copper alloys (with silver and with niobium) were selected for the investigations. The third material used in the studies was produced by bundle drawing of niobium wire in copper tube without classical melting and casting. Microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties were presented in relation to processing technology.

Precipitation strengthened copper belongs to a group of functional and structural materials applied where combination of high electrical conductivity with high strength is required. A growing trend to use the new copper-based functional materials is observed recently world-wide. Within this group of materials particular attention is drawn to those with ultrafine grain size of a copper matrix.This study was aimed to investigate mechanical properties and microstructure in strips of age-hardenable copper alloys processed by continuous repetitive corrugation and straightening (CRCS).Tests were performed on 0.8 mm thick, CuCr0.6 and CuNi2Si1 alloys strips annealed at 650• C for 1 hour. The specially designed construction of die set (toothed rolls and plain rolls set) installed on tensile testing machine was applied for deformation process. The changes of mechanical properties (HV, ultimate tensile strength, 0,2 yield strength) as well as microstructure evolution versus number of deformation cycles were studied. The microstructure was observed with optical and electron microscopes (TEM and SEM equipped with EBSD).The CRCS process effectively reduced the grain size of CuCr0.6 and CuNi2Si1 alloys strips, demonstrating the CRCS as a promising new method for producing ultra-fine grained metallic strips.Keywords: copper alloy, severe plastic deformation, microstructure, mechanical properties Stopy miedzi utwardzane wydzieleniowo należą do grupy materiałów konstrukcyjnych stosowanych w sytuacji, gdzie wymagana jest wysoka elektryczna przewodność właściwa oraz wysokie właściwości wytrzymałościowe. Obecnie obserwuje się w świecie wzrastającą tendencję do stosowania nowych stopów miedzi. W tej grupie materiałów szczególne znaczenie odgrywają stopy cechujące się ultradrobnoziarnistą strukturą osnowy. W pracy badano właściwości mechaniczne oraz mikrostrukturę utwardzanych wydzieleniowo stopów miedzi odkształcanych metodą cyklicznego przeginania i prostowania. Badaniu poddano taśmy ze stopów miedzi CuCr0.6 and CuNi2Si1 o grubości 0,8 mm wyżarzanych w 650• C przez 1 godzinę. Cykliczne przeginanie i prostowanie zrealizowano na skonstruowanym do tego celu stanowisku zainstalowanym na maszynie wytrzymałościowej. Badaniu poddano zmiany właściwości mechanicznych taśmy (twardość HV, wytrzymałość na rozciąganie, umowna granica plastyczności), jak również zmiany mikrostruktury w zależności od ilości cykli deformacji. Badania mikrostruktur prowadzono za pomocą mikroskopii świetlnej i elektronowej (TEM i SEM wyposażony w EBSD)Proces cyklicznego przeginania i prostowania efektywnie zmniejszał wielkość ziaren taśm ze stopów CuCr0.6 CuNi2Si1, rokując dobre nadzieje jako metoda do otrzymywania struktury ultradrobnoziarnistej w płaskich wyrobach walcowanych.

Nowadays, there is much activity all over the world in development of Cu-Nb composites for their potential use as conductors in high field magnets. This study was aimed at investigation of microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties of Cu-Nb composite wires. The investigated materials have been processed by vacuum furnace melting and casting, and then hot forging and cold drawing. Initial results of research into Cu-Nb composite material obtained using repeated iterative drawing of niobium wires compacted into copper tube, have been also presented in this article. The ultimate tensile strength versus cold deformation degree has been presented. These changes have been discussed in relation to microstructure evolution. It was assumed that repeated drawing of compacted wires is a promising method for fibrous composite production (more than 823,000 Nb fibres of nanometric diameter) characterized by high mechanical properties and electrical conductivity. Original SPD technique applied for Cu-Nb composite deformation result in initial microstructure refinement and improves effectiveness of wire production process.Keywords: fibrous composite, copper alloy, mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, microstructureAktualnie obserwuje się na świecie intensywny rozwój kompozytów Cu-Nb stosowanych jako przewody nawojowe generatorów silnych pól magnetycznych. Badania miały na celu określenie mikrostruktury oraz właściwości mechanicznych i elektrycznych drutów kompozytowych Cu-Nb. Badane materiały wytworzono przez zastosowanie topienia i odlewania w piecu próżniowym, a następnie kucia na gorąco i ciągnienia. Zaprezentowano także wstępne wyniki badań wytwarzania kompozytu Cu-Nb na drodze iteracyjnego ciągnienia pakietu drutów niobowych w rurze miedzianej. Pokazano wyniki badań wytrzymałości na rozciąganie w zależności od stopnia odkształcenia, w powiązaniu ze zmianami mikrostruktury. Stwierdzono, że wielokrotne ciągnienie pakietu drutów jest obiecującą metodą wytwarzania kompozytów włóknistych (ponad 823000 włókien Nb o przekroju nanometrycznym) o wysokich właściwościach mechanicznych i konduktywności elektrycznej.

In the study microstructure and properties of composite multifibre copper-base wires are presented. A decision was made to produce wires with "soft" fibres (Al) and "hard" fibres (Fe). In the study the phenomenon occurring on the border of Al-Cu was also analysed. The produced Cu-Al and Cu-Fe composites presented ordered microstructure with the fibres uniformly distributed in the copper matrix. The composites underwent plastic consolidation to the degree which provided satisfactory mechanical and electrical properties. During the drawing the fibres deformed proportionally with copper matrix therefore their content in the cross section remained unchanged.

A growing trend to use new copper-based functional materials is observed recently world-wide. Within this group of materials particular attention is drawn to those with ultrafine grain size of a copper matrix. This study was aimed to investigate mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and microstructure in strips of precipitation strengthened copper alloys processed by continuous repetitive corrugation and straightening (CRCS). Tests were performed with the copper alloy strips using original die set construction installed on tensile testing machine. The microstructure was investigated using optical and electron microscopy (TEM and SEM equipped with EBSD). Proposition of semi industrial application of this method have been also presented. The CRCS process effectively reduced the grain size of a copper alloy strips, demonstrating the CRCS as a promising new method for producing ultra fine grained metallic strips.

The required functional characteristics expected from copper alloys have a major impact on the technological production process, therefore there is a strong need to acquire knowledge on changes of properties with technological process including heat treatment and plastic working. The studied in this work copper CuTi4. CuFe2. CuCr0.7 and CuNi2Si1 alloys was selected to present differences in hardening phases .The samples were quenched, cold deformed (rolling), and aged. Detailed microstructure analysis and its influence on electrical and mechanical properties was presented in the work. Quenched CuTi4, CuFe2, CuCr0.7 and CuNi2Si1alloys have different mechanism and kinetics of precipitation during aging. These processes are complex and depend on the heterogeneity of distribution of alloying elements in copper matrix, the process parameters and cold strain value.Keywords: hardened copper alloys, mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, microstructureWymagane cechy użytkowe których oczekuje się od stopów miedzi wywierają zasadniczy wpływ na ich technologiczny proces wytwarzania. Wynika stąd konieczność rozeznania zakresu zmian własności użytkowych wynikających z zastosowanego wariantu obróbki cieplnej i plastycznej. Stopy miedzi CuTi4, CuFe2, CuCr0.7 i CuNi2Si1 poddane badaniu w niniejszej pracy dobrano w ten sposób aby różniły się fazami umacniającymi. Próbki poddano przesycaniu, odkształceniu na zimno (walcowanie) oraz starzeniu. Przesycone stopy CuTi4, CuFe2, CuCr0.7 oraz CuNi2Si1 różnią się mechanizmem i kinetyką wydzielania podczas procesu starzenia. Procesy te są złożone i uzależnione od niejednorodności rozmieszczenia składników stopowych w osnowie miedzianej, historii wytwarzania i przetwarzania stopów, parametrów przesycania i starzenia jak tez wielkości odkształcenia na zimno.

The aim of this work was to study the microstructure and mechanical properties of copper, brass CuZn36 and bronze CuSn6 strips annealed and after repetitive corrugation and straightening (RCS) process. The influence of process parameters on the functional properties of strips was investigated. The study found an increase in the yield strength and tensile strength of the material after RCS process. Crystallite size measurement confirmed the presence of nanoscale structures in the studied materials after deformation by RCS process. The used method of plastic deformation is promising for development materials with improved functional properties. The paper presents also the results of numerical simulations of Cu strip after corrugation on groove and tooth rolls and next straightening. Rolling process simulations were conducted using Forge 2011® based on the finite element method.

This paper presents the research results of CuSn6 alloy strip at semi-hard state, plastically deformed in the process of repetitive corrugation. The influence of process parameters on the mechanical properties and structure of examined alloy were investigated. Examination in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) confirmed the impact of the repetitive corrugation to obtain the nano-scale structures. It has been found, that the application of repetitive corrugation increases the tensile strength (Rm), yield strength (Rp0.2) and elastic limit (Rp0,05) of CuSn6 alloy strips. In the present work it has been confirmed that the repetitive corrugation process is a more efficient method for structure and mechanical properties modification of commercial CuSn6 alloy strip (semi-hard) as compared with the classic rolling process.