The influence of high strain rates on mechanical properties and microstructure of CuCrZr alloy under strong current carrying condition

The extreme condition of high-speed metal deformation under intense current flow is commonly encountered in the realms of national defense, military, and industry. However, there has always been a lack of effective research method for the micro deformation mechanism of metal under this extreme condition. We have developed a high current and high strain rate tensile (HCHST) testing platform based on RC circuits, which is used to research the micro-deformation mechanisms of CuCrZr alloy under this extreme condition. The dynamic tensile tests of CuCrZr alloy at different high strain rates (1401s⁻¹, 2957 s⁻¹, 5503 s⁻¹, 8012 s⁻¹) under the high current density (6550 A/mm²) condition were conducted using the HCHST experimental platform. The mechanical properties and microstructure of CuCrZr alloy under the HCHST were analyzed by combining TEM and EBSD. The research results indicate that the microhardness of the alloy in the HCHST #1 environment (6550 A/mm²,1401s⁻¹) is almost the same as the original state. This is attributed to the strong current promoting the movement of dislocations and reducing the accumulation of dislocations. Under condition like HCHST#1, the dislocation annihilation rate and dislocation formation rate of CuCrZr alloy almost reach equilibrium. At higher strain rates, the dislocation multiplication rate is much higher than the dislocation annihilation rate caused by strong current. This imbalance leads to dislocation entanglement and the formation of dislocation cells, resulting in an increase in the microhardness of the material. Additionally, EBSD was used to analyze the changes in grain size, average volume fraction of LAGBs, average KAM value, and texture of the samples, further verifying the dislocation evolution and microhardness changes of copper alloys under HCHST conditions. Our research results provide strong theoretical for the application of CuCrZr in the field of electrical thermal mechanical coupling.