The present disclosure shows a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate that has excellent properties for superplastic-forming, such as blow forming, and that has excellent surface properties after forming. Shown is a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate and a production method therefor, the superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate being characterized by comprising an aluminum alloy which contains 2.0 to 6.0 mass % Mg, 0.5 to 1.8 mass % Mn and 0.40 mass % or less Cr and in which the balance consists of Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein the unavoidable impurities are restricted to have 0.20 mass % or less Fe and 0.20 mass % or less Si, the 0.2% proof stress is 340 MPa or more, and the density of intermetallic compounds having an equivalent circular diameter of 5 to 15 μm at the RD-TD plane which extends along the center of the plate cross-section is 50 to 400 pieces/mm.sup.2.

The present disclosure shows a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate that has excellent properties for superplastic-forming, such as blow forming, and that has excellent surface properties after forming. Shown is a superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate and a production method therefor, the superplastic-forming aluminum alloy plate being characterized by comprising an aluminum alloy which contains 2.0 to 6.0 mass % Mg, 0.5 to 1.8 mass % Mn and 0.40 mass % or less Cr and in which the balance consists of Al and unavoidable impurities, wherein the unavoidable impurities are restricted to have 0.20 mass % or less Fe and 0.20 mass % or less Si, the 0.2% proof stress is 340 MPa or more, and the density of intermetallic compounds having an equivalent circular diameter of 5 to 15 μm at the RD-TD plane which extends along the center of the plate cross-section is 50 to 400 pieces/mm.sup.2.

An Ag alloy film used for a reflecting electrode or an interconnection electrode, the Ag alloy film exhibiting low electrical resistivity and high reflectivity and having exceptional oxidation resistance under cleaning treatments such as an O.sub.2 plasma treatment or UV irradiation, wherein the Ag alloy film contains either In in an amount of larger than 2.0 atomic % to 2.7 atomic % or smaller; or Zn in an amount of larger than 2.0 atomic % to 3.5 atomic % or smaller; or both. The Ag alloy film may further contain Bi in an amount of 0.01 to 1.0 atomic %.

The present disclosure relates to a titanium or titanium alloy member and to a surface hardening method for the titanium or titanium alloy member. The titanium or titanium alloy member includes a base material of titanium or titanium alloy, and at a surface of the base material, a hardened layer formed by diffusion of oxygen into the surface.

According to this invention, an oriented copper plate which has a highly developed cube texture and has strength and breaking elongation greater than those of a conventional material having a cube texture, a copper-clad laminate, a flexible circuit board that is excellent in terms of folding flexibility, and an electronic device are provided, and a process for producing the oriented copper plate is established. This invention relates: an oriented copper plate, which contains 0.03% by mass to 1.0% by mass of Cr, the remainder of which is composed of copper and inevitable impurities, wherein the copper plate has a <100> main orientation so that the area percentage of a <100> preferred orientation region is not less than 60.0%, the region satisfying a condition that allows each of a thickness direction of the copper plate and a specific in-plane direction of the copper plate to have an orientation difference of not more than 15° with respect to a <100> basic copper crystal axis of unit lattice of copper, and wherein Cr precipitates having equivalent circle diameters of 4 nm to 52 nm are present at 300 precipitates/μm.sup.3 to 12000 precipitates/μm.sup.3; a copper-clad laminate and a flexible circuit board using the copper plate; and an electronic devices equipped with the flexible circuit board.

A method for protecting a metal during an annealing process, the metal being in the form of a coil or sheets, including placing a protective film between adjacent surfaces of the wraps of the coil or of the sheets, such that the protective film separates the adjacent surfaces of the metal. The metal is subjected with the protective film to the annealing process, the protective film being resistant to temperatures between 200° C. and 360° C. A metal product is obtained by this method.

A lead alloy is described that is capable of manufacturing a positive electrode for a lead storage battery less likely to cause corrosion penetrating through a lead layer for the positive electrode in the thickness direction. The lead alloy contains 0.4% by mass or more and 2% by mass less of tin and 0.004% by mass or less of bismuth, with the balance being lead and inevitable impurities. When image analysis of a crystal orientation distribution map created by analyzing the surface of the lead alloy by an electron backscatter diffraction method is performed, intersection points of misorientation boundaries between crystal grains with a crystal misorientation of 5° or more and a straight line extending in one specific direction are extracted. The distances between two adjacent intersection points among the extracted intersection points are measured, and the average value of the distances is 50 μm or less.

A method of producing a strip from a CoFe alloy is provided. A slab consisting substantially of 35 wt %≤Co≤55 wt %, 0 wt %≤V≤3 wt %, 0 wt %≤Ni≤2 wt %, 0 wt %≤Nb≤0.50 wt %, 0 wt %≤Zr+Ta≤1.5 wt %, 0 wt %≤Cr≤3 wt %, 0 wt %≤Si≤3 wt %, 0 wt %≤Al≤1 wt %, 0 wt %≤Mn≤1 wt %, 0 wt %≤B≤0.25 wt %, 0 wt %≤C≤0.1 wt %, the remainder being Fe and up to 1 wt % of impurities, is hot rolled and then quenched from a temperature above 700° C. to less than 200° C. The hot rolled strip is cold rolled. The cold rolled strip is stationary annealed to produce an intermediate strip, and the intermediate strip is continuously annealed.

An aluminium alloy forged product obtained by casting a billet from a 6xxx aluminium alloy comprising: Si: 0.7-1.3 wt. %; Fe: <0.5 wt. %; Cu: 0.1-1.5 wt. %; Mn: 0.4-1.0 wt. %; Mg: 0.6-1.2 wt. %; Cr: 0.05-0.25 wt. %; Zr: 0.05-0.2 wt. %; Zn: <0.2 wt. %; Ti: <0.2 wt. %, the rest being aluminium and inevitable impurities. The product optionally has an ultimate tensile strength higher than 400 MPa.

The present invention provides a superelastic alloy containing Au in an amount of 8.0% by mass or more and 20.0% by mass or less and at least one of Cr and Mo as essential additive elements, Ta as an optional additive element, and Ti and inevitable impurities as a balance, wherein the Cr equivalent calculated on the basis of the following formula for the relationship of the Cr content, the Mo content and the Ta content is within the range of more than 0.5 and less than 8.0. The alloy is a Ni-free superelastic alloy, and has favorable X-ray-imaging property. Accordingly, the alloy can be suitably used in medical fields.

Cr equivalent=[Cr content (% by mass)]+([Mo content (% by mass)]/1.7)+([Ta content (% by mass)]/15)   [Formula 1]