Cu-Cr-Zr合金に及ぼす加工熱処理条件の影響

Effect of the thermomechanical treatment conditions onto characteristics of chromium-zirconium copper after the solution treatment

羽田 一彦; 西 宏; 廣瀬 貴規; 毛利 憲介; 青木 庄治*; 和田 正彦*; 山道 哲雄*

Hada, Kazuhiko; Nishi, Hiroshi; Hirose, Takanori; Mori, Kensuke; Aoki, Shoji*; Wada, Masahiko*; Yamamichi, Tetsuo*

ITER真空容器内構造機器に使用される構造材料の一つとして、析出強化型銅合金であるCu-Cr-Zr合金の使用が検討されている。本合金は溶体化処理後の焼き入れによりCr-Zrを固溶体化しその後時効処理により微細なCr-Zr析出物を析出させ高強度を得ているが、析出強化型であることからこのときの加工熱処理条件、特に溶体化焼き入れ速度の差異により、大幅に強度特性が変化することが危惧されている。そこで、本研究では、溶体化焼き入れ速度の条件を変化させ、その後時効処理を施した後、引張試験により強度を測定し、本銅合金に及ぼす溶体化焼き入れ速度条件等の影響を調査した。その結果、溶体化焼き入れ速度に関して1C/sと10C/sの間で時効処理後の引張強さが顕著に変化することが判明した。これにより、本合金を材料のみならずHIP等により熱履歴過程を経て部材として製作され、強度部材として溶体化熱処理を施す必要のある場合には、溶体化焼き入れ速度の確認が製品強度を保証するうえで重要であることが明確になった。

Chromium-zirconium copper as precipitation hardened copper alloy is examined as one of the structural materials used for the ITER in vacuum vessel components. The process that consists of a thermomechanical treatments series of the solution treatment with rapid cooling to obtain the supersaturated solid solution and the aging treatment etc., is adopted in order to obtain the demanded high strength in manufacturing of this alloy material. However, as this alloy is precipitation hardened copper alloy, it is concerned that the great change in the strength characteristic is caused by the thermomechanical treatments conditions, especially the difference of the quenching cooling rate after the solution treatment in manufacturing. In this research, the influence of the quenching cooling rate condition after the solution treatment and the other conditions on this copper alloy was investigated by measuring the tensile test properties of the specimens that are prepared by treatments with some quenching cooling rate conditions after the solution treatment and aging treatment. One of the typical results from this study is that, for the quenching cooling rate after the solution treatment, it was understood that the cooling rate change from 1 to 10C/s causes the great growth in the tensile strength. Therefore, when this alloy component is manufactured by heat history process like HIP process and needed to be treated solution treatment to be use for the structural component, it is important to guarantee the strength of the product by checking the quenching cooling rate after the solution treatment.