Effect of rare earth addition on microstructural, mechanical and electrical characteristics of Cu-6%Fe microcomposites

Cu-6%Fe (mass fraction) microcomposites containing (0-0.30)% rare earth elements were prepared by cold drawing and intermediate heat treatments. Microstructure was observed, and mechanical properties and electrical conductivity were measured for alloys at various drawing strain levels. Adding rare earth elements could reduce the size of primary Fe and Cu dendrites of Cu-6%Fe. Ultimate tensile strength increased but electrical conductivity decreased with the increase of drawing strain. Rare earth additions in Cu-6%Fe slightly increased the strength at low strain and effectively improved the conductivity at high strain. Both strain hardening rate and conductivity loss of Cu-6%Fe containing rare earths were reduced at lower strain than Cu-6%Fe.