Micro-structure of the surface of Cu-Be alloy containing 1.34 wt% Be during ageing at various temperatures is studied by microscope.
Striations appear on the surface of grains during ageing at 300°C for 6_??_8 hrs and in about 10 hrs structure of grain boundaries changes to that consisting of double grain boundaries. Distance between the double grain boundaries increases with the ageing until the precipitation is completed.
These results suggest a close relation of precipitation to the thermal etching phenomenon.