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Materials Letters xx (2007) xxx xxx www.elsevier.com/locate/matlet

A new method for producing bimetallic rods

A.R. Eivani , A. Karimi Taheri
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran Received 21 November 2006; accepted 12 January 2007

Abstract In this research, a new method for producing bimetallic rods is introduced. The method is a new application of equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) process. Advantages of using this method can be expressed as; good dimensional control on both the core and clad layer, possibility of performing the process in more than one pass which can result in larger bonding strength, and the possibility of performing the process in different temperatures which is critical for producing most of the bimetallic joints as well as aluminumcopper joint. The shear strength obtained using this method is compared with the same final product produced by general extrusion process. While the shear strength after the first pass of ECAE is almost equal to the sample produced by general extrusion process, using two passes of ECAE result in a 12.5% increase in the shear strength of the joint. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bimetallic rod; Equal channel angular extrusion; Aluminum; Copper

1. Introduction Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) is a novel deformation technique to deform materials through a die with two channels equal in cross section and intersecting at a certain angle [1]. The process was first invented in 1978 by Segal and was published in a Russian patent [2]. After that up to now, many interesting applications of the process have been investigated such as producing nano-structured materials [3], powder metallurgy applications [4], texture and microstructure evolution [5], thermo-mechanical aging [6] and so on. Another important feature of this process is the possibility of performing in different routes [7] and with different number of passes [8] which can largely affect the final properties of the product. In our study a new amazing application of ECAE process which is producing bimetallic clad rods is introduced for the first time. Properties of the joint interfaces are analyzed with shear interface strength evaluation in which the results show acceptable increase in the properties rather than samples produced by general extrusion process. Dimensional preci-

sion, coherent interface, and high shear bonding strength are among the advantages of this process. Moreover, the ECAE process is characterized by some advantages which are not present in other processes of plastic deformation like rolling or drawing. First of all, the general state of compressive stress with one elongated strain, which characterize the ECAE process, causes the highest plasticity of deformed metal. Therefore, the process can be applied to join metals and alloys with low plasticity, which could not be deformed by rolling or drawing processes. Another advantage is the simple shape of the die and therefore the simplicity of the deformation pattern that allows the metal to remain in constant dimensions in macro- and micro-scales which will permit to produce bimetallic rods with precise dimensions and also to produce multilayer rods. 2. Experimental procedure In the produced ECAE bimetallic joints the inner metal was a small cylindrical sample of 10 mm diameter and 70 mm length of pure aluminum. The outer layer was a cylinder of electrical grade copper with inner and outer diameters of 10.1 mm and 13.9 mm respectively. The composition and properties of the materials are summarized in Table 1. Mating surfaces of

Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 15 27 82202; fax: +31 15 27 86730. E-mail address: a.r.eivani@tudelft.nl (A.R. Eivani). 0167-577X/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2007.01.046

Please cite this article as: A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri, A new method for producing bimetallic rods, Materials Letters (2007), doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2007.01.046

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2 A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri / Materials Letters xx (2007) xxxxxx Table 1 Specification of aluminum and copper materials used in this investigation Material Copper Chemical composition Temper Hardness HV 3 kgf 45 Yield point (MPa) 120 Resistivity ( mm2/m) 0.0165

99.95% Cu Annealed Max 0.04% oxygen Aluminum 99.95% Al H12 Max 0.25% Si Max 0.4% Fe Max 0.05% Mg

40

90

0.0276

proposed in the literature [9] equal to 300 C for 1 h to increase the ductility and shear strength of the samples. In order to examine the quality of the joint between the layers of the bimetallic rods, the shear strength tests were performed on the bars using sample and die design shown in Fig. 1. Three samples in each condition were tested and the average value was reported.
3. Results and discussion 3.1. Joint shear strength Fig. 2 shows the joint produced with one pass of deformation in two views. It is clear that the product has enough visual feature soundness. Fig. 3 shows the average shear strength of copperaluminum joints produced using different process conditions, before and after annealing at 300 C for 1 h. With regard to the literature [9], it is clear that the sample produced by general extrusion process has an acceptable shear strength before and after annealing. As in the ECAE process a relatively high pressure is applied on the material [10] and also a sever shear deformation is imposed on the material [1], a good mechanical locking forms between the clad layer and core material resulting in more shear strength rather than general extrusion process. Moreover, it is clear that by increasing the number of ECAE passes the shear strength of the joint increases. It is a result of more applied pressure on the material when performing the ECAE process for two passes [11,12]. As it is observed, route A of deformation result in more increase in the shear strength of the joint. This effect can be easily explained paying attention to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows a square element before deformation in the entry channel, after one pass, and two passes of deformation with routes A and C. It can be seen from this figure that as in route A of deformation the direction of shear deformation on the material does not change, the square is more distorted which simply result in deeper insertion of materials in each other, and respectively increase in the final shear strength of the material. In route C of deformation the direction of the applied shear deformation changes between passes and consequently some of the formed mechanical locks in the first deformation pass open, but some new mechanical locks form which is a reason of increasing shear strength in parallel with using increased extrusion pressure on material rather than EC1 sample. In other words, it can be concluded that obtaining higher shear strength in the case of route C of deformation than one pass is more a result of higher applied pressure in the second pass of deformation.

cylinders were prepared by conventional grinding and polishing techniques with ultimately 1 m diamond finish. Subsequently, samples were cleaned in acetone and were dried using compressed air. The pairs of samples were penetrated in each other by low pressure. The ECAE die used in this study was a die consisting of two intersecting channels 14 mm in diameter intersecting at a die angle of 90 and an outer curved corner of 45. A split configuration die design was used to facilitate easy removal of the extruded specimen. Specimens were ECA extruded at 350 C and ram speed was equal to 1 mm/s. The process was performed for one pass and two passes with route A and C of deformation. For performing general extrusion process to produce bimetallic joints, the conditions were chosen according to the optimum conditions proposed by Kwon et al. [9]. Therefore, extrusion billet of 70 mm in diameter and 200 mm in length was produced using the same material used in the ECAE process. The die used for this experiment was a die with 72 mm and 14 mm billet and product diameters, respectively and with a semi-angle of 30. The thickness of clad material was 3 mm, initially. Extrusion temperature was 350 C and the same lubricant as the ECAE process was used. According to the processing condition samples got the following names; EC1, ECA, ECC, and EXT which correspond to one pass of ECAE, two passes of ECAE with route A and C, and general extrusion, respectively. All of the extrusions (ECAE and general extrusions) were annealed at the optimum annealing temperature

Fig. 1. Sample and die design used for evaluating interface shear strength. Please cite this article as: A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri, A new method for producing bimetallic rods, Materials Letters (2007), doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2007.01.046

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A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri / Materials Letters xx (2007) xxxxxx 3

Fig. 2. Views of the joint produced with one pass of deformation, left) side view, right) front view.

After annealing, it is clear that shear strength of the samples produced by ECAE are more dependent on the annealing process as a result of recovering the sever deformation effects on the joint ductility [13]. This can be easily observed by careful attention to the shear

strength of the EC1 sample which increases about 45% comparing with about 31% increase in the case of EXT sample. The most shear strength is related to the ECA after annealing, which has undertaken two passes of deformation and 1 h annealing at 300 C. This sample shows a final 12.5% increase in shear strength when compared with EXT sample which is produced by general extrusion and then is annealed.

4. Conclusion In this research, a new application of the ECAE process to produce bimetallic rods is introduced. Using this method a visibly sound joint obtains which has an acceptable shear interface strength before and after annealing process. However, annealing increases the strength of the joint more than it does for the samples produced by general extrusion process. The advantages of using this new process rather than general extrusion process are; 1 Using this process, without annealing heat treatment, results in an acceptable shear strength of the joint. 2 Increasing the number of passes results in more shear strength of the joint. 3 Moreover, it is shown that route A of deformation after annealing results in the maximum shear strength equal to 81 MPa which is 12.5% more than the samples produced by general extrusion process in the optimum conditions.

Fig. 3. Joint shear strength of the bimetallic rods produced at different conditions, gray: as extruded, and black: after annealing at 300 C for 1 h.

Fig. 4. Considering an square before and after ECAE process a) one pass, b) two passes route A, and c) two passes route C of deformation. Please cite this article as: A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri, A new method for producing bimetallic rods, Materials Letters (2007), doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2007.01.046

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4 A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri / Materials Letters xx (2007) xxxxxx [7] S. Li, A.A. Gazder, I.J. Beyerlein, E.V. Pereloma, C.H.J. Davies, Acta Mater. 54 (2006) 10871100. [8] S.J. Oh, S.B. Kang, Mater. Sci. Eng., A Struct. Mater.: Prop. Microstruct. Process. 343 (2003) 107115. [9] H.C. Kwon, T.K. Jung, S.C. Lim, M.S. Kim, Mater. Sci. Forum 449452 (2004) 317320. [10] J.R. Bowen, A. Gholinia, S.M. Roberts, P.B. Prangnell, Mater. Sci. Eng., A Struct. Mater.: Prop. Microstruct. Process. 287 (2000) 8799. [11] A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri, J. Mater. Process. Technol. 182 (2007) 555563. [12] Z.A. Khan, U. Chakkingal, P. Venugopal, J. Mater. Process. Technol. 135 (2003) 5967. [13] D.G. Morris, M.A. Muoz-Morris, Acta Mater. 50 (2002) 40474060.

References
[1] V.M. Segal, Mater. Sci. Eng., A Struct. Mater.: Prop. Microstruct. Process. 197 (1995) 157164. [2] V.M. Segal, Patent of the USSR, No. 575892, 1977. [3] R.Z. Valiev, R.K. Islamgaliev, I.V. Alexandrov, Prog. Mater. Sci. 45 (2000) 103189. [4] K. Xia, X. Wu, Scr. Mater. 53 (2005) 12251229. [5] S. Li, I.J. Beyerlein, C.T. Necker, D.J. Alexander, M. Bourke, Acta Mater. 52 (2004) 48594875. [6] Y.H. Zhao, X.Z. Liao, Z. Jin, R.Z. Valiev, Y.T. Zhu, Acta Mater. 52 (2004) 45894599.

Please cite this article as: A.R. Eivani, A. Karimi Taheri, A new method for producing bimetallic rods, Materials Letters (2007), doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2007.01.046