Effect of ECAP on fracture morphology and mechanical properties of Cu-Ag alloys produced by continuous casting

Cu-Ag alloys were prepared by an integrated technique of continuous casting and equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). Their mechanical properties and tensile fracture morphology were studied. Results show that the strength of Cu-Ag alloys increases with the increase of ECAP passes and Ag content, but their elongation decreases. Static toughness of ECAPed alloys by continuous casting is improved compared with that of ECAPed alloys by traditional casting before necking. Meanwhile, it is found that the alloys only by continuous casting exhibits necking before failure, while the alloys subjected to ECAP fail in shear mode with different shear fracture angles as the number of ECAP passes increases. Based on the experimental results, the tensile failure mechanisms of the ECAPed Cu-Ag alloys by continuous casting were discussed.