Precipitation Characteristics of the Metastable γ″ Phase in a Cu-Ni-Be Alloy

The precipitation sequence of a Cu-Ni-Be alloy is: α-Cu supersaturated solid solution → Guinier-Preston (G.P.) zones → metastable γ″ → γ′ → stable γ (NiBe) phase. The micro-hardness and electrical conductivity during the aging process were measured. The precipitation characteristics and the distribution of the γ″ phase, under peak aging conditions, were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area diffraction pattern (SADP), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results show that the orientation relationship of the γ″ phase/α-Cu matrix is: (001)(p)//(001)(α); [100](p)//[110](α) (p: Precipitates, α: α-Cu supersaturated solid solution), which is in accordance with the Bain relationship in a FCC/BCC (face centered cubic/body centered cubic) structure, with the unique habit plane being {001}(α). While the zone axis is parallel to [001](α), three forms of γ″ phases are distributed on the projection surface at the same time. The (001) reciprocal-lattice positions of γ″ phase in SADP are diffusely scattered, which is consistent with the variation of the d((001)) value of the γ″ phase. The intra-range variation is related to the distortion of the (001) plane of the γ″ phase, due to interfacial dislocations and distortion strain fields. The lattice of the γ″ phase in the HRTEM images was measured as a = b = 0.259 ± 0.002 nm and c = 0.27–0.32 nm. With the increase of thermal exposure time, the stable γ phase has a NiBe phase structure (Standard Card Number: PDF#03-1098, a = b = c = 0.261 nm), and the long diffuse scattering spots will transform into single bright spots. The edge dislocation, generated by interfacial mismatch, promotes the formation of an optimal structure of the precipitated phase, which is the priority of growth in the direction of [110](p).