Simulation of the yield strength of wire drawn Cu-based in-situ composites

Abstract

The yield strength of wire drawn in-situ composites consisting of a face centered cubic (fcc) metal matrix (Cu) and 5–30 mass% of a body centered cubic (bcc) transition metal (Nb) is modelled by using a modified linear rule of mixtures (MROM). This approach analytically describes the yield strength of the composite as the sum of the volumetric weighted average of the experimentally observed yield strengths of the individual pure phases and a Hall-Petch type contribution arising from the impact of internal boundaries. The latter portion is described in terms of dislocation pile-ups in the fcc matrix and the activation of dislocation movement in the bcc filaments.