Microstructure and Properties of Copper Tube During Three-Roll Planetary Rolling

During three-roll planetary rolling, the microstructure of copper tube with initial columnar grains develops into an equiaxed grain structure due to the large rolling deformation and high rolling temperature. The microstructure of copper tubes significantly influences formability and properties due to the three-roll planetary rolling operation. It is very important to understand the microstructural evolution for such special processing. It was found that dynamic recrystallization occurred at the concentrating deformation zone, followed by rapid grain expansion that gradually stabilized. Corresponding with the transformation of microstructure, the hardness of the tube billet reduced gradually away from the roller’s concentrating deformation zone. The changing of roller velocity is responsible for the extreme evolution of the microstructure in the concentrating deformation zone. Therefore, the properties of copper tubes can be controlled by concentrating the deformation zone. This research can facilitate the application of planetary rolling to the manufacture of tubes for low formability materials.