A TEM study of discontinuous precipitation in Cu-Be alloys

It is known that a lamellar discontinuous precipitate forms in aged Cu-1.8wt.% Be alloys. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors which influence the formation of the precipitate and to characterize its growth.To determine the effect of solution treatment on the discontinuous precipitate, specimens were solution treated at 800°C, 850°C, and 900°C for 1 hour followed by an ice water quench. Some of the solution treated specimens were examined in the as-quenched condition. The remaining specimens were aged at 340°C for 24 hours. The specimens were thinned with a twin-jet electropolishing unit using 30% HNO3 in methanol at -60°C. The specimens were then examined using either an RCA-EMU3G or a Philips EM-300 electron microscope.Each solution treated specimen was not single phase, but showed some residual grain boundary precipitate which implies that the solution anneal was not sufficient, or else precipitation had occurred during quenching. The higher solution treatment temperatures slightly reduced the amount of this grain boundary precipitate, but none completely removed it, even after five hours at temperature,indicating quench decomposition as the mechanism responsible.