Microstructure and thermal conductivity of copper matrix composites reinforced with mixtures of diamond and SiC particles

The thermal conductivity of diamond hybrid SiC/Cu,diamond/Cu and SiC/Cu composite were calculated by using the extended differential effective medium (DEM) theoretical model in this paper.The effects of the particle volume fraction,the particle size and the volume ratio of the diamond particles to the total particles on the thermal conductivity of the composite were studied.The DEM theoretical calculation results show that,for the diamond hybrid SiC/Cu composite,when the particle volume fraction is above 46% and the volume ratio of the diamond particles to the SiC particles is above 13:12,the thermal conductivity of the composite can reach 500 W·m-1·K-1.The thermal conduc-tivity of the composite has little change when the particle size is above 200μm.The experimental results show that Ti can improve the wettability of the SiC and Cu.The thermal conductivity of the diamond hybrid SiCTi/Cu is almost two times better than that of the diamond hybrid SiC/Cu.It is feasible to predict the thermal conductivity of the composite by DEM theoretical model.     

Distribution of SiC particles in semisolid electromagnetic-mechanical stir-casting Al-SiC composite

The distribution of SiC particles in Al-SiC composite can greatly influence the mechanical performances of Al-SiC composite. To realize the homogeneous distribution of SiC particles in stir-casting Al-SiC composite, semisolid stir casting of Al-4.25 vol.%SiC composite was conducted using a special electromagneticmechanical stirring equipment made by our team, in which there are three uniformly-distributed blades with a horizontal tilt angle of 25 ° to mechanically raise the SiC particles by creating an upward movement of slurry under electromagnetic stirring. The microstructure of the as-cast Al-SiC composites was observed by Scanning Electron Mcroscopy(SEM). The volume fraction of SiC particles was measured by image analysis using the Quantimet 520 Image Processing and Analysis System. The tensile strength of the Al-4.25 vol.%SiC composites was measured by tensile testing. Results show that the Al-4.25 vol.%SiC composites with the homogeneous distrbutin of SiC particles can be obtained by the electromagnetic-mechanical stirring casting with the speed of 300 and 600 r·min-1 at 620 °C. The differences between the volume fraction of Si C particles at the top of ingot and that at the bottom are both ~0.04 vol.% with the stirring speed of 300 and 600 r·min-1, which are so small that the distribution of SiC particles can be seen as the homogeneous. The tensile strength of the Al matrix is enhanced by 51.2% due to the uniformly distributed SiC particles. The porosity of the composite mainly results from the solidification shrinkage of slurry and it is less than 0.04 vol.%.     

Microstructures and properties of 1.0%Al2O3/Cu composite treated by rolling

The 1.0%Al2O3/Cu （mass fraction） composite was prepared by hot pressing （HP）, then treated by rolling to get a full density. The microstructures and the micro area element distribution of the composite were analyzed by SEM. The density, electric conductivity and tensile strength were also investigated. The experimental results show that the alumina particles are more dispersed and become smaller through a single-pass rolling. The pore existing in the composite is eliminated or closed under the rolling force. The relative density increases from 98.4% to 99.2%. The electric conductivity increases from 88.9%IACS to 91.2%IACS. The tensile strength is increased by 47% from 300 MPa to 440 MPa.     

Effect of H_2 Reduction Temperature on the Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide and Copper Matrix Composites

Reduced graphene oxide(RGO) and copper composites(RGO/Cu) were successfully fabricated based on a molecular-level mixing method(MLM). The composite powders were reduced in H2 at 350, 450, and 550 °C and then consolidated by spark plasma sintering(SPS) in order to evaluate the effect of H2 reduction temperature on the properties of the composites. The results indicate that the strengths of the composite decrease with the increase of H2 reduction temperature, while the electrical conductivity reaches its maximum at 450 °C and minimum at 550 °C. Hot rolling could benefit the electrical conductivity. The yield strength of the RGO/Cu composite reduced to 337 MPa at 350 °C. The electrical conductivity of the RGO/Cu composite reduced at 450 °C after hot rolling reaches 60.26% IACS. The properties of the RGO/Cu composites can be designed by adjusting the reduction degree of RGO and by hot rolling.     

Effect of powder mixing process on the microstructure and thermal conductivity of Al/diamond composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Two powder mixing processes, mechanical mixing (MM) and mechanical alloying (MA), were used to prepare mixed Al/diamond powders, which were subsequently consolidated using spark plasma sintering (SPS) to produce bulk Al/diamond composites. The effects of the powder mixing process on the morphologies of the mixed powders, the microstructure and the thermal conductivity of the composites were investigated. The results show that the powder mixing process can significantly affect the microstructure and the thermal conductivity of the composites. Agglomerations of the particles occurred in mixed powders using MM for 30 min, which led to high pore content and weak interfacial bonding in the composites and resulted in low relative density and low thermal conductivity for the composites. Mixed powders of homogeneous distribution of diamond particles could be obtained using MA for 10 min and MM for 2 h. The composite prepared through MA indicated a high relative density but low thermal conductivity due to its defects, such as damaged particles, Fe impurity, and local interfacial debonding, which were mainly introduced in the MA process. In contrast, the composite made by MM for 2 h demonstrated high relative density and an excellent thermal conductivity of 325 W·m-1·K-1, owing to its having few defects and strong interfacial bonding.     

Thermal conductivity of diamond/copper composites with a bimodal distribution of diamond particle sizes prepared by pressure infiltration method

The thermal conductivity of diamond/copper composites with bimodal particle sizes was studied.The composites were prepared through pressure infiltration of liquid copper into diamond preforms with a mixture of 40 and 100 μm-size diamonds.The permeability of the preforms with different coarse-to-fine volume ratios of diamonds was investigated.The thermal conductivity of the diamond/copper composites with bimodal size distribution was compared to the theoretical value derived from an analytical model developed by Chu.It is predicted that the diamond/copper composites could reach a higher thermal conductivity and their surface roughness could be improved by applying bimodal diamond particle sizes.     

Effect of Ball Milling on the Defeat of Few-Layer Graphene and Properties of Copper Matrix Composites

Graphene-reinforced copper composites recently have attracted more attention, since they exhibited excellent mechanical properties and could be used widely in many fields. Few-layer graphene （FLG） and copper powder were mixed by ball milling to produce homogeneous composite powders. Then, FLG-reinforced copper composites （FLG/Cu） were fabricated by spark plasma sintering （SPS） using the composite powders with a FLG volume fraction of 2.4 vol%. The effects of the rotating speed and the time of ball milling were analyzed based on the microstructure evolution and properties of the FLG/Cu composites. Obvious strengthening effect of FLG was found for the composites, and the conductance of the composite reaches 70.4% of IACS. The yield strength of the composite produced by ball milling at a speed of 100 r/rain for 4 h is 376 MPa, which is 2.5 times higher than that of copper and higher than that of copper composite enhanced by 5 vol% CNTs （360 MPa）. The defects produced in FLG with the increase of rotating speed and time could reduce the mechanical and conductive properties of the composites.     

Enhanced mechanical properties in Al/diamond composites by Si addition

Diamond particles reinforced aluminum–silicon matrix composites,abbreviated as Al(Si)/diamond composites,were fabricated by squeeze casting.The effect of Si content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated.The mechanical properties are found to increase monotonically with Si content increasing up to 7.0 wt%.The Al-7.0 wt% Si/diamond composite exhibits tensile strength of 78 MPa,bending strength of 230 MPa,and compressive strength of426 MPa.Al–Si eutectic phases are shown to connect with Al matrix and diamond particles tightly,which is responsible for the enhancement of mechanical properties in the Al(Si)/diamond composites.     

ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTIONS OF RESIDUAL STRESS AND STRAIN BENEATH A NOTCH AFTER ROLLING

The fatigue property of the notched part can be improved significantly by introducingcompressive residual stress resulting from surface plastic deformation at the notch.Theresidual stress and strain distributions beneath the notch is predicted by using finite elementmethed (FEM) of large strain elasto-plastic analysis in this paper.It is investigatedwheather the rolling process could be replaced by a plane-strain indenting with a model inthe analysis.The effects of material strength.notch radius r.and indentation and depth Δhon the distribution of residual stress and strain are discussed.The agreement of predictedand experimental results is good enough.     

PREPARATION OF TEM THIN FOIL CONTAINING POWDER PARTICLE BY ELECTRODEPOSITION METHOD

A practical technique to prepare transmission electron microscopy （TEM） thin foil containing powder particle was described and the data for the codeposition of two type particles with copper in the electroplating were presented. By depositing the particles which were distributed in CuSO4 electrolyte on cathode together with Cu^2＋ in electrodeposition bath, composite coating with suitable thickness could be formed. The thin coating was separated from the substrate and cut into a disc with diameter of 3mm for electropolishing. When the Cu matrix was thinned during electropolishing, the particles contained in the coating plate were also thinned to meet the suitable thickness for TEM observation. Various experimental results revealed that during electrodepositing the current density, pH-value of electrolyte and stirring mode all have significant effects on the distribution of particles in composite coating and the surface quality of the composite coating. The proper parameters used during electrodepositing to prepare TEM thin foil containing powder particle were discussed.     

Thermal Properties of Mg–Al/AlN Composites Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy

Magnesium matrix composites reinforced with AlN particles were fabricated by the powder metallurgy technique.Different mixing methods were used in this study to control the distribution of Al N particles.The microstructure,thermal diffusivity and thermal expansion of the Mg–Al/Al N composites using different mixing methods were investigated.The results showed that the intergranular and intragranular distributions of Al N particles were obtained,respectively,by controlling the mixing methods.The composite with intragranular particles exhibited lower thermal diffusivity because of the existences of more interfaces,defects and grain boundaries,which acted as scattering centers and reduced the mean free path of electrons and phonons.The existence of Al N particles lowered the coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE)and enhanced the dimensional stability of the composites.And the use of the improved mixing method further reduced the CTE of Mg–Al/Al N composites.     

Low-temperature heat conduction characteristics of diamond/Cu composite by pressure infiltration method

In this paper,diamond/CuCr and diamond/CuB composites were prepared using the pressure infiltration method.The physical property measurement system(PPMS)was adopted to evaluate the thermal conductivity of diamond/Cu and MoCu composites within the range of100–350 K,and a scanning electron microscope(SEM)was utilized to analyze the microstructure and fracture appearance of the materials.The research indicates that the thermal conductivity of diamond/Cu composite within the range of100–350 K is 2.5–3.0 times that of the existing MoCu material,and the low-temperature thermal conductivity of diamond/Cu composite presents an exponential relationship with the temperature.If B element was added to a Cu matrix and a low-temperature binder was used for prefabricated elements,favorable interfacial adhesion,relatively high interfacial thermal conductivity,and favorable low-temperature heat conduction characteristics would be apparent.     

Effect of cold-rolling on tensile strength of SiCw/Al composite

SiCw/Al composite was fabricated through a squeeze cast route and cold rolled to about 30%, 50% and 70% re-duction in thickness, respectively. The length of whiskers in the composite before and after rolling was examined using SEM. Some of the rolled composites were recrystallization annealed to remove the work hardening of matrix alloy. The tensile strength of the rolled and annealed SiCw/Al composites was examined and then associated with the change of the whisker length and the work hardening of matrix alloy. It was found that the tensile strength is a function of the degree of cold rolling. For the cold rolled composites, with the increase in the degree of cold rolling, the tensile strength increases at first, and decreases when the degree of cold rolling exceeds 50%. For the annealed ones, however, the tensile strength de-creases monotonously with the increase in rolling degree. The different changes in tensile strength between the rolled and annealed composites could be attributed to the result of     

Preparation and properties of PAn/ATTP/PE conductive composites

Polyaniline/Attapugite/PE（PAn-ATTP/PE）composites containing particles with core-shell structure were obtained via the two-step blending processs. The experimental condition is as follows： Organo-attapulgite and PAn was obtained by modifying attapulgite with laury benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt and, then added to PE. The electrical conductivity, structure and properties of the composites were studied. Under the function of shear stress, core-shell structure particles with ATTP as the core and PAn as the shell were formed in the composites. The structure of PAn-ATTP/PE composites were characterized by FTIR,XRD,SEM, etc, respectively. The effects of concentration of doping agent on the conductivity and mechanical property of the composites were investigated. The mechanical properties and impact fracture surface of the ternary composites were studied by means of the tensile tester, SEM, etc. The results show that polyaniline encapsulated ATTP enhances the strength of the PE. And the conductivity of PAn-ATTP/PE composites of is improved effectively when polyaniline encapsulated ATTP is added. The composite have good conductivity when 10% polyaniline encapsulated ATTP is added.     

Influence of high intensity ultrasonic vibration on microstructure of in-situ synthesized Mg2Si/Mg composites

Coarse and agglomerated primary Mg2Si phase in in-situ synthesized Mg2Si/Mg composite with 4%Si was treated in remelting process by means of high intensity ultrasonic vibration. The effects of ultrasonic vibration duration and temperature on size, morphology and distribution of the primary Mg2Si were studied. The evolution mechanism was discussed. The microstructures of the composites were investigated by means of optical microscopy （OM） and scanning electronic, microscopy （SEM）. The components were inspected with energy dispersion spectrum （EDS） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The results indicate that ultrasonic vibration does not alter two constituents of the composites, but changes the size and distribution of aggregated primary Mg2Si particles. The size of primary Mg2Si particles decreases with the increase of vibration duration and vibrating temperature. High intensity ultrasonic has little effects on the primary Mg2Si morphology. The high intensity ultrasonic vibration is an effective means to prepare well-proportioned in-situ synthesized magnesium matrix composites.     

（Al63Cu25Fe12）p/A356 aluminum alloy composites prepared by spray co-deposition

A novel Al-based composite material （Al63Cu25Fe12）p/A356 was prepared by spray co-deposition. It is revealed that the reinforcement of A163Cu25Fe12 quasicrystalline particles disperses uniformly in the composite with small crystalline grain structure of about 10 lain. The reaction between the Al63Cu25Fe12 quasicrystalline particle and the matrix metal is constrained or depressed because of the high cooling velocity in the process of spray co-deposition. Compared with the composite reinforced by non-continuous ceramics particle, the aging harden behavior of the composites of （Al63Cu25Fe12）p/A356 has outstanding characteristics with less time on aging peak happening and with higher hardening rate. The mechanical properties of the composites evidently enhance except plastic strain.     

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of composite films containing clustered TiO2 particles and mineral tourmaline powders

The novel composite films containing clustered TiO2 particles and fine tourmaline particles on the surface of copper webs were prepared by the sol-gel method. The microstructures of the composite films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and the photocatalytic activity of the films was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, respectively. The results indicate that tourmaline particles can obviously influence the microstructures of TiO2 films and enhance the photocatalytic activity due to their spontaneous permanent polarity and high radiotechnology of far infrared. During preparing the composite films, the clustered TiO2 particles with lots ofnano-sized ladder layers can grow on the surface of fine tourmaline particles, the thickness of ladder layer is 10 nm, and the average diameter ofnano-sized TiO2 particles is 15 nm.     

Effects of Mg content on aging behavior of sub-micron Al2O3p/Al-Cu-Mg composites

30%Al2O3p/Al-Cu-2.0Mg composite and Al2O3p/Al-Cu-2.5Mg composite with 0.3 μm-Al2O3 particles were fabricated. Age-hardening behaviors of two composites and the related matrix alloys were studied by means of Brinell-hardness measurement, DSC and TEM. The results show that the hardness of the composite is improved obviously because of the addition of sub-micron Al2O3 particles. But the hardness increment of Al2O3p/Al composite after aging is lower than that of the related matrix alloy. Moreover, the formation of GP region is suppressed by the addition of sub-micron Al2O3 particles, which broadens the exothermic peak of S＇ phase. The increment of Mg content has a different influence on accelerating the aging processes of aluminum alloys and the composites, and the hardness also increases.     

Nano-SiCP particles distribution and mechanical properties of Al-matrix composites prepared by stir casting and ultrasonic treatment

Nano-ceramic particles are generally difficult to add into molten metal because of poor wettability. Nano-SiC_Particles reinforced A356 aluminum alloy composites were prepared by a new complex process, i.e., a molten-metal process combined with high energy ball milling and ultrasonic vibration methods. The nano particles were β-SiC_P with an average diameter of 40 nm, and pre-oxidized at about 850 °C to form an oxide layer with a thickness of approximately 3 nm. The mm-sized composite granules containing nano-SiC_P were fi rstly produced by milling the mixture of oxidized nano-SiC_P and pure Al powders, and then were remelted in the matrix-metal melt with mechanical stirring and treated by ultrasonic vibration to prepare the composite. SEM analysis results show that the nano-SiC_P articles are distributed uniformly in the matrix and no serious agglomeration is observed. The tensile strength and elongation of the composite with 2 wt.% nano-SiC_P in as-cast state are 226 MPa and 5.5%, improved by 20% and 44%, respectively, compared with the A356 alloy.     

3D Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Modeling of the Tensile Deformation of Polycrystalline Ferritic Stainless Steel

A mesoscale model of plastic deformation of ferritic stainless steels(FSSs) is formulated by combining a crystal plasticity finite element model with 3D cellular automaton algorithm. The actual grain orientations of FSS cold rolling and annealing sheet have been detected by electron backscatter diffraction and selected to be assigned to the polycrystal model.The simulation results have been validated by comparing the calculated true stress–strain response with the experimental one. For the lack of considering the interactions of dislocations with impurities, there are no upper and lower yield points in the simulation stress–strain curves. However, the calculated yield strength and the stress–strain response after yielding agree well with the real material. The local stress and strain fields show inhomogeneous at mesoscale. The plastic deformations of the grains with typical orientations have been characterized. The analysis reveals that the grains with a fiber texture show higher thickness reduction ratio as compared to others. The deformation behaviors of the grains in polycrystal are not only related to the orientations but also to the interactions from adjacent grains.