Effect of Rolling Process and Aging on the Microstructure and Properties of Cu-1.0Cr-0.1Zr Alloy

In order to study the effect of the rolling process and aging on the microstructure evolution and mechanical and tribological properties of the material, room-temperature rolling (RTR), cryogenic rolling (CR), and deep cryogenic treatment after rolling (RTR + DCT) experiments were carried out on a Cu-1.0Cr-0.1Zr alloy by a large plastic deformation process. Alloy plates were aged at 550 °C for 60 min. Different rolling processes and aging treatments have different effects on the microstructure and properties of alloy plates. The alloy plate is rolled and deformed, and the grains change from equiaxed to layered. Compared with RTR and RTR + DCT treatment, CR can promote the precipitation of the Cr phase and the degree of grain fragmentation is greater. After aging treatment, the Cu-Zr mesophase compounds in the microstructure increased, the alloys treated with CR and RTR + DCT appeared to be partially recrystallized, and the number of twins in the CR alloy plate was significantly more than that of RTR + DCT. The ultimate tensile strength of the alloy plate reached 553 MPa and the hardness reached 170 HV after cryogenic rolling with 90% deformation, which indicates that CR treatment can further improve the physical properties of the alloy plate. After aging at 550 °C for 60 min, the RTR 90% + DCT alloy plate has a tensile strength of 498 MPa and an elongation of 47.9%, which is three times that of the as-rolled alloy plate. From the research on the tribological properties of alloy plates, we learned that the main wear mechanisms in the wear forms of CR and RTR + DCT alloy plates are adhesive wear and abrasive wear. Adhesive wear is dominant in the early stage, while abrasive wear is the dominant mechanism in the later stage of wear. The friction coefficient of the CR 90% alloy plate in the TD direction is close to 0.55, and the wear rate is 2.9 × 10^-4 mm³/Nm, indicating that the CR treatment further improves the wear resistance of the alloy plates.