Institute of Metals Division - The Aging Characteristics of Cu-Ti

The aging behavior of a Cu-Ti (3.2 at. pct Ti) alloy has been followed by electrical resistivity, hardness, and metallographic changes. The resistivity data indicate two principal processes, the first causing a sharp decrease in resistivity, and the second, which occurs over a long period of time, a much smaller rate of decrease. Lamellar nodules, Widmanstätten platelets, and homogeneous continuous precipitation was observed. The Widmanstätten platelets grow at the expense of the latter. When this study was initiated, little information was available on the aging behavior of copper-base titanium alloys. Several articles'-3 that appeared in the early 1930's showed that these alloys could be strengthened by precipitation, but a detailed study was not made. Within the past year, however, two other more comprehensive studies4'5 have been reported in the literature, one consisting primarily of an investigation of mechanical properties, the other