Deformation-aging behavior and property evolution of Cu–Ti alloys prepared by accumulative roll bonding-deformation diffusion process

Cu–Ti alloys were prepared by accumulative roll bonding-deformation diffusion (ARB-DD) process. The deformation-aging behavior and the evolution of microstructure and properties were studied, and the intrinsic mechanism was revealed. The results show that multi-scale substructures such as Taylor lattices formed inside Cu–Ti alloys in ARB-DD process. They provide sites for the formation of Cu4Ti during the subsequent deformation-aging process, and promote homogeneous nucleation of a high density of spherical coherent Cu4Ti particles. The strong ordering effect during the interaction between Cu4Ti and dislocations hinders the dislocation motion. As a result, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of secondary deformation-aged Cu–Ti alloy is nearly 1040 MPa, which is about 160% higher than that of Cu–Ti alloy before deformation-aging treatment. The increased content of Cu4Ti particles and the decreased low-angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) reduce the degree of electron scattering, thereby resulting in an electrical conductivity of about 13% IACS, which is about 90% improvement over alloys before deformation-aging treatment.