The two phase near-eutectic Cu-Ag rods (D₀ = 20mm) is produced by die casting and subsequent cold drawing to diameters of 12.42 mm and 6.73 mm. As such cast structures are deformed, an elongated fibrous structure of Cu and Ag lamellar regions is obtained [Davy et al. (2008)]. In this work, the cold drawn Cu-Ag composite is characterized and the effects of the microstructure refinement on the properties of the composite are studied. The characterization is carried out with optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and compression testing. The cold drawn Cu-Ag rods are sectioned in both longitudinal and transversal directions for microstructural observation. The samples are metallographically prepared for microscopy and the inspection of the microstructure has been done using optical and scanning electron microscopes. The light grey phase is a Ag-rich solid solution, the dark phase is the Cu-rich solid solution phase, see Figure 1. The mechanical behavior of the Cu-Ag composites is investigated at room temperature by compression tests. The material has a high anisotropy level, and its effective properties depend on the lamellae orientation. From experimental measurements, an attempt is made to model the mechanical behavior of the composites using an elasto-viscoplastic material model on two scales taking into account the microstructure [Beyerlein et al. (2011)], see Figure 4. The model is applied in 3D finite element simulations, where the material behavior is based on the constitutive equations of the single crystal. The material parameters are identified from the experimental data in compression tests. Numerical predictions and experimental measurements are compared to the flow behavior and the texture evolution in Cu-Ag composites.

Keywords: Copper-Silver composite, Lamellar phase structure, Mechanical properties, Texture.