Effect of Al2Cu constituent layer thickness discrepancy on the tensile mechanical behavior of Cu/Al2Cu/Al layered composites: a molecular dynamics simulation

Xiaoqian Bian; Aiqin Wang; Jingpei Xie; Pei Liu; Zhiping Mao; Zhenwei Liu

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/acec7c

Effect of Al₂Cu constituent layer thickness discrepancy on the tensile mechanical behavior of Cu/Al₂Cu/Al layered composites: a molecular dynamics simulation

Nanotechnology. 2023 Aug 17;34(44). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/acec7c.

Authors

Xiaoqian Bian¹, Aiqin Wang^{1

2}, Jingpei Xie^{1

2}, Pei Liu^{1

2}, Zhiping Mao^{1

2}, Zhenwei Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, People's Republic of China.
² Provincial and Ministerial Co-construction of Collaborative Innovation Center for Non-ferrous Metal New Materials and Advanced Processing Technology, Luoyang 471023, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 37531938
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/acec7c

Abstract

Nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al₂Cu/Al layered composites with different layer thicknessesdof single-crystal Al₂Cu constituent are constructed. The effects ofdon the strength and fracture modes of nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al₂Cu/Al layered composites are systematically investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The uniaxial tensile results show that the ultimate strength and fracture mode of the nano-polycrystalline Cu/Al₂Cu/Al layered composites do not change monotonically with the change of single crystal Al₂Cu constituent layer thicknessd, the ultimate strength peaking atd= 2.44 nm, and the toughness reaching the optimum atd= 4.88 nm. The improvement of deformation incompatibility between Cu, Al and Al₂Cu components increases the ultimate strength of polycrystalline Cu/Al₂Cu/Al laminated composites. Due to the high activity of Cu dislocation and the uniformity of strain distribution of single crystal Al₂Cu, the fracture of nano-crystalline Cu/Al₂Cu/Al layered composites changes from brittleness to toughness. This study is crucial to establish the organic connection between microstructure and macroscopic properties of Cu/Al layered composites. To provide theoretical basis and technical support for the application of Cu/Al layered composites in high-end fields, such as automotive and marine, aerospace and defense industries.

Keywords: Cu/Al layered composites; fracture mode; interface layer; single-crystal Al2Cu; ultimate strength.