COPPER TIN NICKEL PHOSPHORUS ALLOYS WITH IMPROVED STRENGTH AND FORMABILITY

摘要

A new copper-based alloy is described along with a processing method to make a strip that can be used for various automotive interconnects. The alloy process combination yields a material with high strength and electrical conductivity with excellent formabiiity. The combination of properties result from a Cu-Sn-Ni-P alloy with optional Mg additions and thermal-mechanical processing to make an alloy with a conductivity of 40%iACS, yield strength of 80 KSI, bend formabiiity of 11/11 minimum, and stress relaxation of 65% at 15O0C after 1000 hours. Processing can be modified to increase formabiiity at the expense of yield strength. Improvements to conductivity come from changes in chemistry as well as processing. The new chemistry-process optimization results in a low cost alloy of Cu-Sn-Ni-P-Mg.