Structure and mechanical properties of a hybrid material with copper matrix and steel fibers after ECAP

The structure and mechanical properties of a hybrid material with a copper matrix and steel fibers subjected to ECAP were studied. C12200 pure copper and AISI 304 steel were used as hybrid material components. A mixed submicrocrystalline grain-subgrain structure with a high dislocation density is formed in the copper matrix of the hybrid material as a result of ECAP that leads to an increase in strength by ~20% while maintaining a high value of the relative elongation. The strength of the steel fibers of the hybrid material after ECAP was significantly increased primarily due to the process of intensive deformation twinning and increase in the dislocation density. At the same time, the presence of a ductile copper matrix around the steel fibers makes it difficult for them to shear strain during ECAP, which slows down the process of a developed ultrafine-grained structure formation.