Strength and conductivity of in situ Cu-Fe alloys

Alloys of Cu--Fe with Fe contents from 10-30 wt.% have been prepared by casting plus mechanical reduction. A series of heat treatments was done at various stages of the mechanical reduction to promote precipitation of the Fe from the Cu matrix with the hope of optimizing electrical conductivity at a given strength level. A curve of optimum tensile strength against electrical conductivity was determined. It was found to lie significantly below the available data for Cu--Nb alloys and it is suggested that further improvements may be possible in Cu--Fe alloys by improved thermal mechanism processing. 27 ref.--AA