Characterization of the Texture of Heavily Deformed Metal-Metal Composites with Acoustic Microscopy

Abstract

Composite materials are playing an increasingly important role as structural components. Familiar motivations for their use include the ability to achieve high ratios of strength to weight, tailored elastic stiffnesses, damage tolerance, etc. A new class of these materials which has recently received considerable attention for structural applications is the heavily deformed metal-metal composites^1,2. Through extensive deformation processing of two ductile components, e.g. Nb dendrites in a Cu matrix, a fine, highly aligned, reinforced structure is produced. These heavily deformed metal-metal composites have been found to exhibit large mechanical strength in combination with high thermal and electrical conductivities at elevated temperatures^3,4. In attempting to understand the mechanisms leading to these superior properties, an experimental determination of the microstructure developed during the deformation processing was undertaken. One aspect is the texture, or preferred grain orientation, developed during the deformation.