Influence of microalloying with zirconium on the structure and properties of Cu-Cr alloy after high pressure torsion

Alloying of binary Cu-Cr alloy with a small amount (0.08%) of zirconium decreases its average grain size from 209 nm to 141 nm after high pressure torsion (HPT). A combination of quenching, HPT and following aging of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy allows obtaining an ultrafine grained (UFG) structure (grain size: 188 nm) having high strength and sufficient electrical conductivity.