Microstructure and Properties of a Fe-Cu Composite Processed by HPT Powder Consolidation

Abstract

A method to produce nanocrystalline Fe-Cu composites by means of high-pressure torsion (HPT) deformation is presented. Mixtures of micrometer sized powders of Fe and Cu with different ratios of the two components were precompacted and subsequently deformed by HPT at room temperature to a certain amount of strain. Afterwards, new samples were cut out of these previously deformed samples and further HPT deformation was conducted. The evolution of the microstructure during the different steps of the HPT process and the resulting microstructure of the composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. In summary it could be shown that the final attainable grain sizes in the composite materials in the two step process are much smaller than in the simply HPT deformed composites. The reduction of the grain size is also reflected in an enhancement of the hardness.