The crucial role of accumulated strain and Cu content on the electrical, thermal, tensile, fracture, and microstructure characteristics of Al/Cu multi-layered composites subjected to SPD

This work investigates how accumulative strain and Cu content (45, 62, 77 wt%) impact the structural, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the Al/Cu composite fabricated via the ARB technique. According to the results, an increase in the Cu wt% led to the rise of plastic instability emergence rate, tensile strength, microhardness, and electrical and thermal conductivity. Moreover, as the strain increased during ARB passes, the distribution of hard layers, strength, and microhardness of the composites increased while the elongation, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity decreased. The peak tensile strength reached 375 MPa in the fifth pass for Al/77Cu. However, the max electrical and thermal conductivity values of 69.5 % IACS and 180 W/m/K were achieved in the first pass for Al/77Cu. Examination of the fracture surfaces of the post-tensile test specimens indicated that the predominant fracture mode following the ARB process is a shear ductile fracture.