Study of the non-isothermal microstructural evolution of deformed Cu–15 wt.%In and Cu–9 wt.%Sb alloys by means of X-ray diffraction and dilatometry

• Plastic deformation affects thermal expansion of Cu–15 wt.%In and Cu–9 wt.%Sb alloys.
• XRPA permits to well establish the microstructure evolution during heating.
• High supersaturation involves a slow microstrain reduction.
• Solute segregation increases the grains growth effect on thermal expansion.

The dilatometric study of plastically deformed Cu–15 wt.%In and Cu–9 wt.%Sb alloys, has been made. Thermal expansion variation, during continuous heating, was explained by using X-ray line profile and peak shift analyses. The dilatometric curves recorded for the deformed samples show two different behaviors.For the first alloy, cellular precipitation was not eliminated by deformation and gives with the recrystallization an important dilatometric contraction. Slow microstrain reduction and domain size growth affect the FWHM after primary recrystallization. The later was confirmed by the TEM observations of dislocations in the equilibrium matrix after heating up to 450 °C. The dominant lattice parameter effect during dissolution gives an important expansion.However, in the second alloy, the cellular precipitation disappeared. The occurrence of precipitation and dissolution reactions within the recrystallization stage, gives an important duplicated dilatometric contraction. Almost, the total microstrain reduction and domain size growth are revealed at the first half of the observed contraction. Then, the second half is due to the grains growth with a magnitude similar to that of the precipitation and recrystallization below 398 °C.

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