Production of copper-beryllium alloys and copper-beryllium alloys produced thereby

Abstract: A process for producing the beryllium-copper alloy comprises the steps of casing a beryllium-copper alloy composed essentially of 1.00 to 2.00% by weight of Be, 0.18 to 0.35% by weight of Co, and the balance being Cu, rolling the cast beryllium-copper alloy, annealing the alloy at 500 to 800°C for 2 to 10 hours, then cold rolling the annealed alloy at a reduction rate of not less than 40%, annealing the cold rolled alloy again, thereafter cold rolling the alloy to a desired thickness, and subjecting the annealed alloy to a final solid solution treatment. The beryllium-copper alloy obtained by this producing process is also disclosed, in which an average grain size is not more than 20 µm, and a natural logarithm of a coefficient of variation of the grain size is not more than 0.25.

Description: The present invention relates to new ways of producing copper-beryllium alloys, preferably having excellent mechanical strength, electric conductivity, reliability, etc., and the invention also relates to such beryllium-copper alloys produced by this producing process. The copper-beryllium alloys composed mainly of Be and Cu have been widely used e.g. as high strength spring materials, electrically conductive materials. The copper-beryllium alloy is ordinarily converted to a thin sheet by the following producing process. That is, as a flow chart of the conventional producing process shown in Fig. 2 by way of example, a beryllium-copper alloy having a given composition is cast, the cast copper-beryllium alloy is hot rolled, the hot rolled alloy is worked to a given dimension by subjecting it to annealing and cold rolling to remove work hardening, and finally, the cold rolled sheet is finished by solid solution treatment. The annealing effected on the midway of the rolling is strand annealing in which the alloy is recrystallized at high temperatures not lower than 800°C for a short time period, and the alloy is subjected to the solid solution treatment to soften the alloy. Further, no conventional knowledge is available regarding the reduction rate in the cold rolling between the intermediate annealing steps which are carried out in the case of annealing at plural times, and such a reduction rate has been merely set by expediency. The term "reduction rate" means throughout the specification and claims a rate (%) = (thickness before rolling - thickness after rolling)/(thickness before rolling) × 100 with respect to the alloy . The process for producing the beryllium-copper alloy shown by the flow chart in Fig. 2 has the following problem. (1) Variations are likely to occur in alloy characteristics. This is caused by the following reasons. That is, since the annealing is effected at high temperatures for a short time period, a recrystallization grain-growing speed is high. Therefore, since variations are likely to occur in the grain size and the treatment is effected for a short time, a non-uniform texture after the hot rolling is difficult to eliminate. (2) It is difficult to control the average crystalline grain diameter of the final product. This is because when the grain size is controlled to obtain desired characteristics, the grain size must be controlled only by the final solid solution treatment in the case of intermediate annealing effected at high temperatures. (3) There is a high possibility that extremely duplex microstructure is produced. This is because when the temperature of the final solid solution treatment is controlled to increase the grain size, the temperature of the final solid solution treatment needs to be raised, which is likely to produce the duplex microstructure. As discussed above, the conventional process has the problems in the grain size and the uniformity thereof which greatly influence various characteristics, particularly, reliability. Accordingly, beryllium-copper alloys having excellent characteristics cannot be obtained. It would be desirable to eliminate or alleviate at least some of the above mentioned problems, and preferably provide a process for producing a copper-beryllium alloy, which can produce an alloy product having uniform microstructure, small variations in alloy characteristics, and high reliability and of which crystalline grain size can be easily controlled. The present invention aims to provide novel production methods for copper-beryllium alloys, and the alloys obtainable thereby. The process for producing the copper-beryllium alloy according to the present invention is characterized by the steps of casting a copper-beryllium alloy composed essentially of 1.00 to 2.00% by weight of Be, 0.18 to 0.35% by weight of Co, and the balance being Cu, rolling the cast alloy, annealing the alloy at 500 to 800°C for 2 to 10 hours, then cold rolling the annealed alloy at a reduction rate not less than 40%, annealing the cold rolled alloy again at 500 to 800°C for 2 to 10 hours, thereafter cold rolling the alloy to a desired thickness, and subjecting the annealed alloy to a final solid solution treatment. A copper-beryllium alloy obtainable by this producing process, in another aspect of the invention, is characterized in that the average grain size is not more than 20 µm, and a natural logarithm of a coefficient of variation of the crystalline grain size is not more than 0.25. The above features and other, preferred features are now explained in more detail in the following description when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings, with the understanding that some modifications of the embodiments may easily be made by the skilled person in the art. For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a flow chart of an example of the process for producing a copper-beryllium alloy embodying the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a flow chart of an example of the conventional process for producing a copper-beryllium alloy. According to our new process, a beryllium copper alloy commercially available as a high strength copper-beryllium alloy and having an ordinary composition may be annealed twice by using overaging. The desired grain size can be attained after the final solid solution treatment by specifying the temperature and time of the annealings and the reduction rate of the cold rolling effected therebetween. A mechanism for controlling the grain size is now explained. The microstructure of the alloy having undergone the hot rolling is non-uniform in many cases, and the non-uniform microstructure remains even after the cold rolling and the conventional annealing by the solid solution treatment, following the hot rolling. In view of this, this non-uniformity can be considerably reduced by annealing the alloy for a long time. When the annealed alloy is then cold rolled at a given reduction rate and then annealed again for a long time, the thus reduced non-uniformity is eliminated. By such a consecutive treatment, a uniform microstructure can be obtained in the final solid solution treatment, while preventing occurrence of the duplex microstructure. Further, the precipitate formed on annealing using the overaging as described herein plays an important role in controlling the average grain size. The copper-beryllium alloy having the specified composition according to the present invention has an aging region and a solid solution region lower and higher than near 600°C, respectively. Therefore, when the annealing temperature is changed via near 600°C as a center, microstructure having different precipitation states can be obtained. The alloy has broadly two different kinds of the precipitates. One of them is spherical precipitate formed around a CoBe compound as nuclei, and the other is an acicular precipitate. The latter acicular precipitate is easily solid solved on the final solid solution treatment, whereas the former spherical precipitate is difficult to solid solve so that this precipitate pins a recrystallized grain boundary. Therefore, the grain size of the alloy can be controlled by the same solid solution treatment through controlling the amount and the side of the spherical precipitate. The precipitate can be controlled by adjusting the annealing temperature on the overaging. The desired uniformity of the spherical precipitate, i.e., the desired uniformity of the microstructure, can be attained by not only twice annealing but also intermediate cold rolling at a given reduction rate. Next, reasons for various limitations in the present techniques will be explained. First, the reason why the composition is limited to 1.00 to 2.00% by weight Be, 0.18 to 0.35% by weight of Co and the balance being Cu is that this composition is the most industrially practical from the standpoint of the mechanical strength, electrical conductivity and economy. The reason why the annealing temperature is set at 500 to 800°C is that if the temperature is less than 500°C, it is difficult to sufficiently recrystallize the alloy so that a non-uniform microstructure containing a non-recrystallized portion is produced, whereas if the temperature is more than 800°C, the crystalline grains grow greatly making it difficult to control the grain size in the succeeding final solid solution treatment. Further, the reason why the annealing time is limited to 2 to 10 hours is that if the time is less than 2 hours, uniformity is insufficient, whereas if it is more than 10 hours, no further annealing effect can be obtained. Further uniformity can be desirably attained by setting the annealing time to not less than 4 hours. In addition, the reason why the reduction rate in the cold rolling is set to not less than 40% is that if the reduction rate is less than 40%, no sufficient uniformity can be attained in the second annealing. In order to further increase the uniformity, the reduction rate is preferably not less than 60%. Fig. 1 is the flow chart illustrating an example of the process for producing the copper-beryllium alloy embodying the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, after a copper-beryllium alloy having a given composition is cast, the cast ingot is subjected to rolling consisting of hot rolling and cold rolling. Then, the alloy rolled to a desired thickness of, for example, 2.5 mm is subjected to a first annealing at 500 to 800°C for not less than 2 hours. Then, after the thus annealed alloy is cold rolled at a reduction rate of not less than 40%, the alloy is annealed again under the same annealing conditions as those of the first annealing. Finally, after the resulting alloy is cold rolled to a desired thickness, the alloy is subjected to the solid solution treatment to obtain the desired beryllium-copper alloy. The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to specific examples. Examples and Comparative Examples : A copper-beryllium alloy composed essentially of 1.83% by weight of Be, 0.2% by weight of Co, and the balance being Cu was cast, and the cast ingot was hot rolled to obtain a hot rolled plate having a thickness of 7.6 mm. The hot rolled sheet was then cold rolled to a thickness of 2.3 mm. Next, the sheet thus cold rolled was subjected to a first annealing under annealing temperature and time conditions given in the following Table, and then cold rolled at a reduction rate also shown in Table 1 after the annealing. Then, the cold rolled sheet was subjected to the second annealing under annealing temperature and time conditions also given in Table 1. Finally, after the alloy was cold rolled to a thickness of 0.24 mm, it was subjected to the solid solution treatment at 800°C for 1 minute. A microstructure of each of the thus obtained alloy sheets falling inside or outside the scope of the present invention was photographed by an optical microscope, degree of duplex representing the mean grain size and the spreading of the grain size distribution after the final solid solution treatment was determined by image analysis based on the photograph. The mixed grain size is a coefficient of variation assuming that a logarithm normal distribution is established. The smaller the coefficient of variation, the greater is the amount of the uniform microstructure. Further, a R/t value as a bending characteristic and a hardness of the obtained alloy sheet were measured, and its coefficient of variation, CV, was determined to obtain variation degrees thereof. The coefficient of variation, CV, was determined according to CV = σ/ x after obtaining an average value x and a standard deviation σ with respect to 30 alloy sheets. Results are also shown in Table 1. As is clear from the results in Table 1, the alloy sheets having undergone the first and second annealings and the intermediate cold rolling therebetween have the smaller grain size, the smaller degree of duplex, and the smaller variations in the mechanical properties, and more uniform microstructure were obtained as compared with Comparative Examples not satisfying the requirements of the present invention. Further, it is also clear from the results in Table 1 that the mean grain size can be controlled over a wide range by the producing process of the present invention. That is, when the formability is to be improved, the second annealing may be effected at about 560°C. On the other hand, when the strength before the final aging treatment is to be lowered, the second annealing may be effected at not less than 700°C. As is clear from the above-mentioned explanation, when the copper-beryllium alloy is subjected to the first and second annealings utilizing the overaging under the specified annealing temperature and time and the intermediate cold rolling is effected at the specified reduction rate between the first and second annealings, the grain size can be controlled, so that the copper-beryllium alloy having the uniform microstructure can be obtained. As a result, a highly reliable product can be obtained by removing variations in the mechanical properties.

Claims: A process for producing the copper-beryllium alloy, comprising the steps of casting a copper-beryllium alloy composed of 1.00 to 2.00% by weight of Be, 0.18 to 0.35% by weight of Co, and the balance being Cu, rolling the cast alloy, annealing the alloy at 500 to 800°C for 2 to 10 hours, then cold rolling the annealed alloy at a reduction rate of not less than 40%, annealing the cold rolled alloy again at 500 to 800°C for 2 to 10 hours, thereafter cold rolling the alloy to a desired thickness, and subjecting the annealed alloy to a final solid solution treatment. A process according to Claim 1, wherein the annealing time is not less than 4 hours. A process of claim 1 or 2 wherein said reduction rate is not less than 60%. A process of any preceding claim wherein a mean grain size of the copper-beryllium alloy obtained is not more than 20 µm, and a natural logarithm of a coefficient of variation of the grain size is not more than 0.25. A copper-beryllium alloy obtainable by a process of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a mean grain size is not more than 20 µm, and a natural logarithm of a coefficient of variation of the grain size is not more than 0.25.

Inventors: IWADACHI TAKAHARU, NOJIRI KEIGO, IWADACHI, TAKAHARU, NOJIRI, KEIGO
Applicants: NGK INSULATORS LTD, NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: C22F1
IPC codes: C22C9, C22F1