J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2024, Vol. 191: 122-133.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2023.12.042

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Strength-ductility synergy in a hierarchical Cu-Cr-Zr alloy processed via laser powder b e d fusion

Wenjun Maa,b,c, Fei Caoa,b,c, Lei Gaoa,b,c, Yihui Jianga,b,c, Zheng Chena,b,c, Hao Shia,b,c, Yanfang Wanga,b,c, Shuhua Lianga,b,c,*   

  1. aSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China;
    bEngineering Research Center of Conducting Materials and Composite Technology, Ministry of Education, Xi'an 710048, China;
    cShaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Electrical Materials and Infiltration Technology, Xi'an 710048, China
  • Received:2023-11-04 Revised:2023-12-11 Accepted:2023-12-16 Online:2024-08-20
  • Contact: *E-mail address: liangsh@xaut.edu.cn (S. Liang).

Abstract: Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a promising method for manufacturing functional and structural inte-grated Cu-Cr-Zr components. However, the LPBF-processed Cu-Cr-Zr alloys still suffer from the strength-ductility trade-offdilemma, while maintaining high conductivity. Here, LPBF-processed Cu-Cr-Zr alloy with a hierarchical structure was obtained by increasing the Cr and Zr content simultaneously. After ag-ing treatment, the hierarchical structure was composed of melt tracks at the macroscale, coarse grains (31.9 ±0.1 μm) and fine grains (5.6 ±0.2 μm) at the microscale, high-density of dislocations and dual precipitates at the nanoscale. The direct aged sample exhibited an excellent combination of strength and ductility (tensile strength was enhanced to 626 ±1 MPa and uniform elongation of 16.2 % ±1.1 %), which is superior to the traditionally wrought and LPBF-processed Cu-Cr-Zr alloys reported previously. Meantime, a good electrical conductivity of 71.1 % ±0.3 % IACS was also achieved. In addition, the hetero-geneous deformation-induced stress caused by the hierarchical structure not only led to a large increase in yield strength but also promoted tensile ductility.

Key words: Additive manufacturing, Cu-Cr-Zr alloy, Laser powder bed fusion, Hierarchical structure, Strength-ductility synergy