Anneal hardening effect dependence on thermal cycling of copper base alloys

Anneal hardening effect dependence on thermal cycling of Cu-Zn and Cu-Al alloys is studied in this paper. The cast samples of both alloys were performed to the same thermo mechanical treatment which included thermal cycling. The cast Cu-Zn and Cu-Al alloys are quenched and then subjected to cold rolling followed only by annealing or annealing with thermal cycling, below the recrystallization temperature. Anneal hardening effect has been observed in both alloys in an annealing temperature range of 180-300 degrees C, where the hardness and electrical conductivity being increased with the amount of reduction of prior cold rolling. These investigations showed that the thermal cycling increased the intensity of anneal hardening effect some higher at Cu-Zn than at Cu-Al alloy.