Microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of Cu-0.3Mg-0.05Ce alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing and subsequent annealing

A Cu-0.3 wt.%Mg-0.05 wt.%Ce alloy was designed and prepared by melting and casting. After hot rolled, the ingot was cut into rod-shape samples for equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with different passes at room temperature. The microstructure evolutions were investigated using transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis. The severe plastic deformation (SPD) caused by ECAP made the grains elongated significantly. With the increase of ECAP passes, the fraction of high-angle boundaries (HABs) (θ ⩾ 15°) increased and the microstructure was refined. Tension testing results indicated that the tensile strength was remarkably improved from 273.4 MPa before ECAP to 587.5 MPa after 8 passes of ECAP, maintaining an appropriate elongation of 11.4% and good electrical conductivity of 73.1%IACS. After annealing treatment at 300 °C for 2 h, the ECAP samples still maintained excellent comprehensive properties: tensile strength was 558.2 MPa, electrical conductivity was 74.7%IACS, and elongation was 13.2%, which showed bright prospect in high-speed railway as a contact wire material.