Structure and Properties of High-Strength Cu-7.7Nb Composite Wires under Various Steps of Strain and Annealing Modes

Microstructure and mechanical properties of in situ Cu-7.7Nb microcomposite (MC) wires manufactured by cold drawing with intermediate heat treatment (HT) have been studied. The evolution of Nb filaments morphology under various steps of deformation and modes of intermediate HT have been studied by the SEM and TEM methods. According to X-ray analysis, internal microstresses accumulate in the niobium filaments of the drawn MC, leading to a decrease in ductility. After heat treatment, the ductility of the wire increases significantly, since the microstresses in the niobium decrease even at the lowest HT temperature. The strength of the composite decreases under the HT because of negative changes in morphology and interface density of Nb filaments. The Nb texture is stable under the HT up to 800 °C. The Nb filaments morphology and semi-coherent boundaries at Cu/Nb interfaces are restored under the post-HT cold drawing, leading to a sharp increase in the strength of the MC wire. Reducing the niobium concentration to 7.7%Nb relative to the traditional MC with 16–20%Nb and the recovery of the wire ductility under the HT makes it possible to obtain long-scale high-strength microwires with an extremely small diameter of 0.05 mm and high ultimate tensile strength of 1227 MPa