Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment

Heterostructured materials consist of heterogeneous zones with dramatic variations in mechanical properties, and have attracted extensive attention due to their superior performance. Various heterostructured materials have been widely investigated in recent years. In the present study, a combination...

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Main Authors: Lele Sun, Xingfu Li, Cong Li, Yulan Gong, Zhengrong Fu, Jingran Yang, Shuwei Quan, Shen Qin, Xinkun Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Metals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/11/1217
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author Lele Sun
Xingfu Li
Cong Li
Yulan Gong
Zhengrong Fu
Jingran Yang
Shuwei Quan
Shen Qin
Xinkun Zhu
author_facet Lele Sun
Xingfu Li
Cong Li
Yulan Gong
Zhengrong Fu
Jingran Yang
Shuwei Quan
Shen Qin
Xinkun Zhu
author_sort Lele Sun
collection DOAJ
description Heterostructured materials consist of heterogeneous zones with dramatic variations in mechanical properties, and have attracted extensive attention due to their superior performance. Various heterostructured materials have been widely investigated in recent years. In the present study, a combination of two different types of heterogeneous structures, a surface bimodal structure and gradient structure, was designed using the traditional surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) method in pure copper, and the mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of dual-heterostructure Cu were studied in depth. In total, 100 stainless steel balls with a diameter of 6 mm were utilized to impact the specimen surface at room temperature for a short period of time. In this work, the sample surface was divided into hard areas and soft areas, along with a roughly 90 μm gradient structure in the cross-sectional direction after 30 s of SMAT processing. After the partial SMAT processing, lasting 30 s, the strength increased to 158.0 MPa and a considerable ductility of 25.7% was sustained, which overcomes the strength–ductility trade-off. The loading–unloading–reloading (LUR) test was utilized to measure the HDI stress, and the result showed that the HDI stress of the partial SMAT sample was much higher than the annealed one, especially for the Cu-SMAT-30S specimen, the strength of which increased from 80.4 MPa to 153.8 MPa during the tensile test. An in situ digital image correlation (DIC) investigation demonstrated that the strain developed stably in the Cu-SMAT-10S specimen. Furthermore, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was carried out to study the microstructural evolution after partial SMAT processing; the KAM value increased to 0.34 for the Cu-SMAT-10S specimen. This research provides insights for the effective combination of superior strength and good ductility in dual-heterostructure materials.
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publishDate 2024-10-01
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spelling doaj-art-0c4a7d2edda8477f86088dcec3e5ac1d2024-11-26T18:13:21ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012024-10-011411121710.3390/met14111217Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition TreatmentLele Sun0Xingfu Li1Cong Li2Yulan Gong3Zhengrong Fu4Jingran Yang5Shuwei Quan6Shen Qin7Xinkun Zhu8Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, ChinaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, ChinaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, ChinaFaculty of Science, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, ChinaSchool of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Kunming University, Kunming 650214, ChinaCity College, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650504, ChinaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, ChinaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, ChinaFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, ChinaHeterostructured materials consist of heterogeneous zones with dramatic variations in mechanical properties, and have attracted extensive attention due to their superior performance. Various heterostructured materials have been widely investigated in recent years. In the present study, a combination of two different types of heterogeneous structures, a surface bimodal structure and gradient structure, was designed using the traditional surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) method in pure copper, and the mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of dual-heterostructure Cu were studied in depth. In total, 100 stainless steel balls with a diameter of 6 mm were utilized to impact the specimen surface at room temperature for a short period of time. In this work, the sample surface was divided into hard areas and soft areas, along with a roughly 90 μm gradient structure in the cross-sectional direction after 30 s of SMAT processing. After the partial SMAT processing, lasting 30 s, the strength increased to 158.0 MPa and a considerable ductility of 25.7% was sustained, which overcomes the strength–ductility trade-off. The loading–unloading–reloading (LUR) test was utilized to measure the HDI stress, and the result showed that the HDI stress of the partial SMAT sample was much higher than the annealed one, especially for the Cu-SMAT-30S specimen, the strength of which increased from 80.4 MPa to 153.8 MPa during the tensile test. An in situ digital image correlation (DIC) investigation demonstrated that the strain developed stably in the Cu-SMAT-10S specimen. Furthermore, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was carried out to study the microstructural evolution after partial SMAT processing; the KAM value increased to 0.34 for the Cu-SMAT-10S specimen. This research provides insights for the effective combination of superior strength and good ductility in dual-heterostructure materials.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/11/1217pure copperheterogeneous structuresurface hard zonegradient structuremechanical properties
spellingShingle Lele Sun
Xingfu Li
Cong Li
Yulan Gong
Zhengrong Fu
Jingran Yang
Shuwei Quan
Shen Qin
Xinkun Zhu
Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment
Metals
pure copper
heterogeneous structure
surface hard zone
gradient structure
mechanical properties
title Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment
title_full Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment
title_fullStr Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment
title_short Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Microstructural Evolution in Pure Copper with Dual Heterostructures Produced by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment
title_sort investigation of mechanical properties and microstructural evolution in pure copper with dual heterostructures produced by surface mechanical attrition treatment
topic pure copper
heterogeneous structure
surface hard zone
gradient structure
mechanical properties
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/11/1217
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