Studying the Plastic Deformation of Cu-Ti-C-B Composites in a Favorable Stress State

Composites with a copper matrix attract the attention of researchers due to their ability to combine high ductility, heat conductivity, and electrical conductivity of the matrix with the high hardness and strength of the reinforcing phases. In this paper, we present the results of studying the effect of thermal deformation processing of a Сu-Ti-C-B composite produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) on its ability to deform plastically without failure. The composite consists of a copper matrix and reinforced particles of titanium carbide TiC (sized up to 1.0 μm) and titanium diboride TiB₂ (sized up to 3.0 μm). The composite hardness is 60 HRC. Under uniaxial compression, the composite starts to deform plastically at a temperature of 700 °C and a pressure of 100 MPa. Temperatures ranging between 765 and 800 °C and an initial pressure of 150 MPa prove to be the most effective condition for composite deformation. These conditions enabled a true strain of 0.36 to be obtained without composite failure. Under higher strain, surface cracks appeared on the specimen surface. The EBSD analysis shows that dynamic recrystallization prevails at a deformation temperature of at least 765 °C; therefore, the composite can plastically deform. To increase the deformability of the composite, it is proposed to perform deformation under conditions of a favorable stress state. Based on the results of numerical modeling by the finite element method, the critical diameter of the steel shell is determined, which is sufficient for deformation of the composite with the most uniform distribution of the stress coefficient k. Composite deformation in a steel shell under a pressure of 150 MPa, at 800 °C, is experimentally implemented until a true strain of 0.53 is reached.