On the strengthening mechanisms of 18 carat yellow gold and its mechanical behaviour

In order to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanical properties of gold alloys this paper investigates the mechanical behaviour of an 18 carat yellow alloy; the strain hardening behaviour during a tensile test was measured in the annealed as well as in different cold-work conditions. In addition, the contribution of different strengthening mechanisms is discussed on the basis of current results and of data reported in literature. In particular, the contributions of grain size refinement and copper solid solution alloying in improving the mechanical strength of gold alloys were quantified.