Microstructural Evolution of a Nanostructured Complex Copper Alloy Processed by Accumulative Roll-Bonding of Oxygen...

The accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) process using different copper alloys of oxygen free copper (OFC) and dioxide low-phosphorous copper (DLPC) was performed up to six cycles at ambient temperature without lubrication. A complex copper alloy sheet'in which OFC and DLPC alloys are stacked alternately each other was successfully fabricated by the ARB process. The microstructural evolution and texture development of the complex copper alloy with proceeding of the ARB were investigated by electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) measurement. The specimen after 1 cycle showed significantly inhomogeneous microstructure in thickness direction, however, the inhomogeneity decreased gradually with increasing the number of ARB cycles. In addition, the grains became finer with the proceeding of the ARB. Resultantly, after 6 cycles, the specimen exhibited an ultrafine grained structure in which the grains above 65% were surrounded by the high angle grain boundaries above 15 degrees. On the other hand, there was no difference in texture development between OFC and DLPC in almost all specimens. In addition, the texture development did not depend on positions in thickness direction; the rolling texture such as {112}<111> and {011}<211> components developed strongly at all regions.