CuCrZr alloys were treated with the thermal stretch process at various temperatures from 100 to 300℃.The results reveal that the thermal stretch process is successfully developed to manufacture the precipitation hardening CuCrZr alloys with a good combination of microhardness and electrical conductivity.By increasing the tensile elongations at each temperature from 100 to 300℃,the microhardness increases whereas the electrical conductivity decreases slightly.Cr-containing precipitate phases with a Nishiyama-Wasserman orientation relationship to the copper matrix were observed by TEM.The achievement of high micro-hardness and acceptable electrical conductivity in the thermal stretch treated alloys is ascribed to the interactions of the heteroatom solution,dislocation increment,grain refinement and dispersive precipitation effect.
