High strength and high conductivity Cu alloys: A review

Abstract

High strength and high conductivity (HSHC) Cu alloys are widely used in many fields, such as high-speed electric railway contact wires and integrated circuit lead frames. Pure Cu is well known to have excellent electrical conductivity but rather low strength. The main concern of HSHC Cu alloys is how to strengthen the alloy efficiently. However, when the Cu alloys are strengthened by a certain method, their electrical conductivity will inevitably decrease to a certain extent. This review introduces the strengthening methods of HSHC Cu alloys. Then the research progress of some typical HSHC Cu alloys such as Cu-Cr-Zr, Cu-Ni-Si, Cu-Ag, Cu-Mg is reviewed according to different alloy systems. Finally, the development trend of HSHC Cu alloys is forecasted. It is pointed out that precipitation and micro-alloying are effective ways to improve the performance of HSHC Cu alloys. At the same time, the production of HSHC Cu alloys also needs to comply with the large-scale, low-cost development trend of industrialization in the future.

Effect of Wet Granulation on Tribological Behaviors of Cu-Based Friction Materials

“…Copper matrix composites (CMCs) are widely used in many fields, such as electronics, machinery, and transportation, due to their excellent electrical, thermal conductivity, and tribological properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Copper-based friction materials(CBFMs) are used in brake components such as high-speed trains, wind power generation, and aircraft and play a vital role in their safe and stable operation [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Regularities of Microstructure Evolution in a Cu-Cr-Zr Alloy during Severe Plastic Deformation

“…A combination of ECAE-Conform with other methods of plastic deformation may be quite beneficial. Rolling is one of the industrially significant methods of plastic deformation and has proven to be an effective one for the hardening of copper alloys [42][43][44][45][46]. The formation of a sharp texture during rolling makes it possible to implement an additional textural strengthening [47].…”

Low cycle fatigue behavior of Cu‐Cr‐Zr alloy with different cold deformation

“…With the rapid development of high-speed electrified railways, researchers showed increasing interest in higher requirements for the performance of contact line materials (higher strength, higher conductivity, higher antisoftening temperature and good plasticity). [1][2][3] Cu-Cr-Zr alloy has become a research hotspot in recent decades due to its advantages to meet these requirements, [4][5][6][7] and previous researchers have shown its importance in the high-speed rail network. 2,6,[8][9][10][11][12] Cu-Cr-Zr alloy used in contact wires are usually produced by semi-continuous casting and cold working.…”

“…[1][2][3] Cu-Cr-Zr alloy has become a research hotspot in recent decades due to its advantages to meet these requirements, [4][5][6][7] and previous researchers have shown its importance in the high-speed rail network. 2,6,[8][9][10][11][12] Cu-Cr-Zr alloy used in contact wires are usually produced by semi-continuous casting and cold working. [13][14][15][16] Since cold deformation introduces dislocations, twinning and residual stress, which are considered to be important during preparation process for improving the strength of materials.…”