Copper alloy

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9514856-B2
Application number	US-201114127724-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2011
Priority date	Aug 4, 2011
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

Disclosed is a copper alloy containing 1.0% to 3.6% of Ni, 0.2% to 1.0% of Si, 0.05% to 3.0% of Sn, 0.05% to 3.0% of Zn, with the remainder including copper and inevitable impurities. The copper alloy has an average grain size of 25 μm or less and has a texture having an average area percentage of cube orientation of 20% to 60% and an average total area percentage of brass orientation, S orientation and copper orientation of 20% to 50%. The copper alloy has a KAM value of 0.8 to 3.0 and does not suffer from cracking even when subjected to U-bending. The copper alloy has excellent balance between strengths (particularly yield strength in a direction perpendicular to the rolling direction) and bending workability.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A copper alloy, comprising:
by mass,
Ni in a content of from 1.0% to 3.6%;
Si in a content of from 0.2% to 1.0%;
Sn in a content of from 0.05% to 3.0%;
Zn in a content of from 0.05% to 3.0%; and
copper,
wherein:
the copper alloy has an average grain size of 25 μm or less;
the copper alloy comprises a texture having an average area percentage of cube orientation {001}<100> of from 20% to 60% and having an average total area percentage of specific three orientations of from 20% to 50% as measured by scanning electron microscope-electron back-scattering pattern analysis (SEM-EBSP) with the three orientations being brass orientation {011}<211>, S orientation {123}<634>, and copper orientation {112}<111>; and
the copper alloy has a kernel average misorientation (KAM) value of from 1.00 to 3.00.

2. The copper alloy of claim 1 , further comprising at least one element selected from the group consisting of Fe, Mn, Mg, Co, Ti, Cr, and Zr in a total content of from 0.01% to 3.0% by mass.

3. The copper alloy of claim 1 , wherein the copper alloy has an average total area percentage of the three orientations of from greater than 40% to 50%.

4. The copper alloy of claim 2 , wherein the copper alloy has an average total area percentage of the three orientations of from greater than 40% to 50%.

5. The copper alloy of claim 1 , wherein the copper alloy has an average grain size of 15 μm or less.

6. The copper alloy of claim 1 , wherein the copper alloy has an average area percentage of cube orientation {001}<100> of from 30% to 50%.

7. The copper alloy of claim 1 , wherein the copper alloy comprises Zn in a content of from 0.05% to 1.5% by mass.

8. The copper alloy of claim 1 , wherein the copper alloy comprises Sn in a content of from 0.1% to 1.0% by mass.

Assignees

• Shishido Hisao
• Aruga Yasuhiro
• Katsura Shinya
• Matsumoto Katsushi
• Kobe Steel Ltd

Inventors

• Shishido Hisao
• Aruga Yasuhiro
• Katsura Shinya
• Matsumoto Katsushi

Classifications

• C22C9/00

  Alloys based on copper · CPC title

• C22F1/08

  of copper or alloys based thereon · CPC title

• C22F1/00

  Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working (apparatus for mechanical working of metal B21, B23, B24) · CPC title

• C22C1/10

  Alloys containing non-metals (C22C1/05, C22C1/08 take precedence) · CPC title

• C22C9/06

  with nickel or cobalt as the next major constituent · CPC title