Influence of Re on the Plastic Hardening Mechanism of Alloyed Copper

In this paper, we investigated the effect of adding rhenium to Cu-Ni-Si alloys on the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of these alloys. The scientific objective was to analyze the effect of Re addition on the microstructure of heat- and cold-treated CuNi2Si1 alloys. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM, STEM) and scanning electron microscopy (EDS, WDS) were used to examine the microstructure. Orientation mapping was also performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a backscattered electron diffraction (EBSD) system. In addition, hardness at low load and conductivity were tested. The obtained results showed that modifying the chemical composition of Re (0.6 wt%) inhibits the recrystallization process in the CuNi2Si1 alloy, which was cold deformed and then subjected to recrystallization annealing.