For todays and tomorrows applications in electrical and automotive industries the requirements for copper alloys combining optimized strength and high electrical respectively thermal conductivity are continuously increasing.

In order to increase mechanical strength and alloy conductivity at the same time, precipitation hardening is the conducted process method. After a short solution annealing and water quenching the copper-based alloys are cold worked and heat treated at moderate temperatures. One of the key achievements of this work is to use a thoroughly examined and optimized thermomechanical treatment to enable the precipitation of scandium containing intermetallic phases.

The conducted research analyses the influence of up to 0,3 wt.-% scandium as an alloying element in copper-based materials. The measurements of scandium containing alloys are all time accompanied by the benchmark alloy CuZr0,15 which is frequently used in various industrial applications. This procedure enables a direct alloy comparison and validation of the experimental setup. The CuZr0,15 binary alloy contains 0,15 wt.-% zirconium and enables due to its limited solubility precipitation hardening as well. Comparing the two alloying systems, CuSc and CuZr, enable to generate an in-depth view on how copper based alloys can be designed for different application profiles.

After analysing reachable hardness and electrical as well as thermal conductivities, different process parameters are optimized. In addition, significant material properties as for example recrystallization, softening temperature for higher application temperatures are highlighted and directly related to the mentioned reference material which is fitted for a variety of applications in the automotive and electronic industry.

During the experimental procedure the electrical conductivity is measured with an eddy current test. Moreover hardness tests of the analysed materials are conducted with a micro hardness tester (HV0,1). Casted alloys produced by melting metallurgy are thoroughly examined using a calibrated spark spectrometer (optical emission spectrometer OES).