Influence of plastic deformation on the precipitation of Cr in copper

The effect of cold rolling on the early-stage precipitation mechanisms of Cr in fcc Cu has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy and atom-probe tomography. The results clearly show that the deformation leads to an acceleration of both the precipitation and coarsening kinetics. However, cold rolling does not change the precipitation sequence. As reported for the non-deformed state, three kinds of precipitate were observed: spheres, ellipsoid, and plates associated to various crystallographic structures and orientation relationships. If the rolling strain is too high, then intensive recrystallization occurs during aging. Recrystallization is also associated with a fast growth of Cr precipitates and a significant drop in mechanical strength.