Contrasting roles of Laves_Cr₂Nb precipitates on the creep properties of novel CuCrNbZr alloys

To enhance the creep resistance at elevated temperatures, a new precipitation-strengthened CuCrNbZr alloy has been designed and fabricated to achieve a target microstructure with coarse Laves_Cr₂Nb precipitates at grain boundaries and fine Cr-rich precipitates in the matrix. This work systematically studied the creep property of the CuCrNbZr alloy at 500 °C under 90–140 MPa applied stress and compared to that of a reference commercial CuCrZr alloy without Laves_Cr₂Nb precipitates. Microstructures before and after creep testing were investigated by optical and transmission electron microscopy. Based on the creep testing and microstructural characterization results, the dominant creep mechanism in both alloys was grain boundary sliding with a threshold stress of ~80 MPa. The CuCrNbZr alloy has higher creep strength and higher creep fracture ductility, and longer creep life than the CuCrZr alloy. The improved creep property in the CuCrNbZr alloy was due to the presence of Laves_Cr₂Nb precipitates that efficiently impede the crack propagation.