The effect of thermomechanical treatment on the microstructure and the mechanical behavior of a supersaturated Cu-Ag alloy

Supersaturated Cu-3at.% Ag alloy was processed by cold rolling and short-time annealing in order to achieve a combination of high strength and good tensile ductility. After annealing of the rolled samples a heterogeneous solute atom distribution was developed due to the dissolution of nanosized Ag particles in some volumes of the matrix. In regions with higher solute content, the high dislocation density formed due to rolling was stabilized, while in other volumes the dislocation density decreased. The heterogeneous microstructure obtained after annealing exhibited a much higher ductility and only a slightly lower strength than in the as-rolled state.