Chromium Precipitate Patterning in CuCrZr Alloy

Occasionally, in the commercially available precipitation hardened commercial CuCrZr alloy (UNS number C18150), macro precipitates appear as a dendritic-like structure, due to the location of the precipitates within the interdendritic regions prior to the hot-working process. It was determined that the material in which these patterns were appearing had considerable work to break the cast structure, resulting in a fully wrought microstructure, as was supported by the presence of RXN grains and annealing twins through the matrix. SEM/EDS was used to characterize these precipitates to determine the composition it was determined that these dendritic patterned precipitates were predominantly chromium. Further analysis of the associated room temperature tensile, electrical conductivity, and Rockwell hardness were conducted to determine the potential impact on the room temperature mechanical properties. It was determined that for the condition of the material, there was no observable impact on the mechanical properties.