Korean Journal of Materials Research ISSN:1225-0562(Print) 2287-7258(Online) 한국재료학회지

The Al-Fe-Mg-Cu-B system aluminum alloy is used for electrical wire, but is severely deformed by the multi-pass drawing process when a rod with a diameter of 12 mm is greatly reduced to 2.0 mm. This study investigated the changes in the microstructure, mechanical properties, and electrical properties of the aluminum wire during the drawing process in detail. The as-drawn aluminum alloy wire exhibited a deformation structure in which the grains were greatly elongated in the drawing direction, particularly in the specimens subjected to more than 80 % reduction in cross-sectional area (R_A). For all drawn specimens, the fiber texture of the {110}<111> and {112}<111> components was mainly developed. The hardness tended to increase with increasing R_A due to work hardening. In particular, when the R_A increased to 97 % a great increase in hardness resulted. The specimen with an R_A of 97 % showed the highest tensile strength of 288 MPa, 2.2 times higher than that of the specimen before drawing. The electrical conductivity decreased slightly with increasing R_A, even in specimens with extreme increases in R_A, and it remained at an average value of 56.6 %IACS.