Influencia de la deformación previa sobre el endurecimiento por precipitación en una aleación de Cu-Ni-Si

Abstract

The effects of pre-deformation on the precipitation processes in a Cu-2.8 Ni-1.4 Si (at.%) alloy were studied using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and microhardness measurements. The calorimetric curves shows the presence of one exothermic reaction attributed to the formation of δ-Ni2Si precipitates in the copper matrix that was confirmed by TEM. In addition it can be observed that the temperature of the maximum of the DSC peak decreases with the increase of the pre-deformation to the aging treatments. The activation energies calculated for the precipitation of δ-Ni2Si, by the Kissinger method, were similar to those calculated by an Arrhenius function, from the maximum hardening of the matrix due to aging treatments (saturation of the hardness during isothermal aging). The analysis of the microhardness measurements together with the calorimetric curves and the TEM micrographs confirm, on the one hand, that the formation of the δ-Ni2Si phase, during the aging treatments, are responsible for the hardening of the copper matrix, and on the other hand that the deformation prior to the aging treatment partially inhibits the formation of the precipitates.