A Portrait of Copper Processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Abstract

Copper is one of the most important materials used for electrical connectors with a high thermal and electricial conductivity, and there is an ongoing demand to improve its mechanical properties without sacrificing other beneficial properties. A possible approach to achieving this aim is to use the method of severe plastic deformation to obtain an ultrafine grained microstructure. Significant grain refinement obtained by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) leads to an improvement of mechanical, microstructural and physical properties. This paper gives an overview of a range of the properties that can be achieved by ECAP processing of pure copper including microstructural features, thermal stability, thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance.