Microstructure evolution, diffusion behavior, and mechanical properties of a Cu/AlCoCrFeNi2.1 composite under pulsed magnetic field

A Cu/AlCoCrFeNi2.1 composite was fabricated via solid-liquid method. In order to acquire the good interface bonding, the pulsed magnetic field (PMF) treatment was applied during the preparation of the Cu/AlCoCrFeNi2.1 composite. The effects of different processes and parameters, including pulse frequency on the interface microstructure, element distribution, diffusion thickness, and mechanical properties of the composite were investigated. The results demonstrated that PMF treatment effectively decreased the diffusion layer thickness of the composite, and improved mechanical properties of the Cu side. The diffusion thickness of the composite reduced from 31.22 μm to 6.20 μm after applying PMF. The action mechanism of PMF during preparation was revealed. The ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of the Cu/AlCoCrFeNi2.1 composite via PMF were 192.6 MPa, 121.7 MPa, and 43.8%, respectively, which were higher than that of the composite without PMF. The maximum shear strengths of the composites with and without PFM were 120.2 MP and 137.4 MPa, respectively. When the pulse frequency was 2 Hz, the macro-segregation was eliminated to form the high-quality interface. This work paves a way for the performance improvement and complex parts preparation of layer composite by using PMF.