Effect of thermomechanical processing on the mechanical properties of CuZn10 alloy

The effects of thermomechanical processing on the grain size, tensile strength, and strain rate of a CuZn10 alloy were investigated. Microstructures of thermomechanically treated samples were introduced using a scanning electron microscope. The relationships between the flow stress, reduction ratio, annealing temperatures, and strain rates were detected for determination of activation energies and optimized thermomechanical parameters. The effect of grain size on the mechanical properties was examined by tensile and microhardness tests. The typical fractographs of samples after tensile tests were examined using a scanning electron microscope. It was observed that the annealing temperature and aging time have significant effects on the optimum grain size. Mechanical properties of the thermomechanically treated samples were improved by strain rate, deformation ratio, annealing temperature, and aging time.