Effect of Stacking Fault Energy on the Mechanical Properties of Cold-Rolling Cu and Cu-Al-Zn Alloys

Sacking fault energy (SFE) plays a significant role for metals or alloys to getting high strength and expected ductility simultaneously. Here the effect of SFE variation on mechanical properties has been studied in cold-rolling Cu and Cu-Al-Zn alloys. Tensile testing results show that the strength and ductility of the materials increase simultaneously with decreasing SFE. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate the peak broadening for the crystallite size decreasing and the lattice strain increasing with the stacking fault energy lowering . The relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties of the materials is briefly discussed in this paper.