Evaluation of high strength, high conductivity CuNiBe alloys for fusion energy applications

Abstract The unirradiated tensile properties for several different heats and thermomechanical treatment conditions of precipitation strengthened Hycon 3HP™ CuNiBe (Cu–2%Ni–0.35%Be in wt.%) have been measured over the temperature range of 20–500 °C for longitudinal and long transverse orientations. The room temperature electrical conductivity has also been measured for several heats, and the precipitate microstructure was characterized using transmission electron microscopy. The CuNiBe alloys exhibit very good combination of strength and conductivity at room temperature, with yield strengths of 630–725 MPa and electrical conductivities of 65–72% International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). The strength remained relatively high at all test temperatures, with yield strengths of 420–520 MPa at 500 °C. However, low levels of ductility (

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