Discontinuous precipitation-strengthened Cu-Ni-Si alloys are highly regarded for their combination of high strength and excellent electrical conductivity. However, the slow process of discontinuous precipitation, typically requiring up to 24 h for complete formation, significantly increases the alloy’s production costs and limits potential improvements in its properties. This study addresses this issue by applying pre-deformation to Cu-6Ni-1.42Si alloys, which accelerated the discontinuous precipitation (DP) of Ni₂Si by approximately 48 times, resulting in the formation of fast DP and full DP alloys. The fast DP alloy exhibited a smaller DP size and inter-distance than the full DP alloy, achieving a tensile strength of 1070 MPa and a conductivity of 38.5% IACS. In contrast, the full DP alloy had a slightly lower tensile strength (approximately 930 MPa) but a higher conductivity of 46% IACS. Both alloys outperform traditional Cu-Ni-Si alloys in strength while maintaining comparable conductivity. The accelerated DP technique improves mechanical properties without significantly sacrificing conductivity, offering a new approach for high-performance conductive materials.

In this study, isothermal annealing experiments were conducted on copper-nickel-silicon alloys containing continuous precipitates (CP) and discontinuous precipitates (DP) to investigate the effects of different types of precipitate phases on the microstructural evolution and softening temperature during annealing, as well as to analyze the differences in softening mechanisms. The experimental results revealed that the softening temperature of the CP alloy, subjected to 75% cold deformation, was 505 °C. In contrast, the DP alloy achieved softening temperatures of 575 °C and 515 °C after 75% and 97.5% cold deformation, respectively. This indicates that the DP alloy exhibits significantly superior softening resistance compared to the CP alloy, attributed to the distinct softening mechanisms of the two alloys. In the CP alloy, softening is primarily influenced by factors such as the coarsening of the precipitate phase, the occurrence of recrystallization, and the reduction in dislocation density. In the DP alloy, the balling phenomenon of the DP phase is more pronounced, and its unique microstructure exerts a stronger hindrance to dislocation and grain boundary motion. This hindrance effect reduces the extent of recrystallization and results in a smaller decrease in dislocation density. In summary, the DP alloy, due to its unique microstructure and softening mechanisms, demonstrates better softening resistance, providing higher durability and stability for high-temperature applications.

Copper–nickel alloys are widely applied in marine engineering due to their excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. This study investigates the effect of chromium (Cr) on the erosion–corrosion behavior of copper–nickel alloys through erosion–corrosion experiments. The results indicate that the alloy containing Cr exhibits enhanced erosion–corrosion resistance. The addition of Cr reduces the corrosion rate of the copper–nickel alloy from 0.206 mm/a to 0.060 mm/a. This improvement in corrosion resistance is mainly attributed to the formation of (Ni/Fe)₃Cr phases, which enhance the alloy’s strength and further improve its erosion resistance. Furthermore, Cr increases the electrochemical resistance of the corrosion products.

Thermal deformation behavior of Cu–Cr–Sn alloy ingots under deformation temperatures ranging from 600 °C to 950 °C and strain rates from 0.01 s⁻¹ to 10 s⁻¹ was investigated in detail. The thermal deformation constitutive equation and thermal processing map of the alloy were established, respectively. The activation energy Q was determined as 430.61 KJ/mol. The optimal deformation system corresponding to the hot working diagram was a deformation temperature of 900 °C and strain rate of 0.1 s⁻¹. Under these deformation conditions, twin dynamic recrystallization (TDRX), continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX), and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) occurred simultaneously, with the twinning process causing the stress–strain curve to exhibit a wavy change. The thermal deformation microstructure of the alloy is co-regulated by different recrystallization mechanisms, with DDRX occurring mainly at low deformation temperatures, and both CDRX and DDRX occurring at high deformation temperatures.