ISSN 0031-918X, Physics of Metals and Metallography, 2018, Vol. 119, No. 10, pp. 946–955.

© Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2018.

Original Russian Text © A.Yu. Volkov, A.A. Kalonov, D.A. Komkova, A.V. Glukhov, 2018, published in Fizika Metallov i Metallovedenie, 2018, Vol. 119, No. 10, pp. 1002–1011.

STRUCTURE, PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS,

AND DIFFUSION

Structure and Properties of Cu/Mg Composites Produced

by Hydrostatic Extrusion
A. Yu. Volkova, *, A. A. Kalonova, D. A. Komkovaa, and A. V. Glukhova, b
aInstitute
of Metal Physics, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, 620108 Russia
bUral Federal University Named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, 620002 Russia
*e-mail: volkov@imp.uran.ru
Received February 26, 2018; in final form, April 23, 2018

Abstract—Two Cu/Mg-composite rods of different content of components were produced by hydrostatic

extrusion. The volume proportion of the copper sheath and magnesium core was almost equal in one of the
two composite samples. Seven thin magnesium fibers were located in the copper matrix of another compos-
ite. Estimate calculations of the strength properties and electrical resistance of deformed composites were
carried out and compared with the experimental results. The influence of anneals on the microstructure and
electrical and mechanical properties of composites was also studied. This work has shown that a temperature
rise causes sequential formation of the intermetallic compounds CuMg2 and Cu2Mg at the Cu/Mg interface,
which, according to the phase diagram, results in eutectic reactions. The results of this work can be used in
the development of high-strength composite conductors.

Keywords: metallic composites, copper, magnesium alloys, eutectic decomposition, mechanical properties,
resistometry

DOI: 10.1134/S0031918X18100125

INTRODUCTION magnesium into copper leads to a growth of strength

Copper and copper-based alloys are commonly
used in fabricating electrical conductors [1–5]. The
miniaturization of electronic instruments and devices
that is currently taking place urgently needs an
enhancement of the strength properties of conductors
with the retention of high electrical conductivity. This
problem can usually be solved by selecting alloying
elements [2] and employing different methods of
severe plastic deformation (SPD) [3] or a combination
of these approaches [4]. Increased attention is being
paid to the creation of composite conductive materi-
als: the copper matrix is reinforced with thin metallic
fibers [5] and carbon nanotubes [6], nanosized metal-
lic particles [7], etc. are introduced into it. The copper
matrix assures high electrical conductivity and plastic
properties, and introduced elements enhance the
strength characteristics. One of the strongest conduc-
tors is the Cu–18 Nb composite material in which the
copper matrix is reinforced with numerous thin nio-
bium fibers [8]. The enhanced (as compared to pure
copper) density and high cost of niobium are among
the drawbacks of this material.
Alloys of the Cu–Mg system are currently of some
interest to researchers [2, 4]. In copper, as it follows
from the phase diagram (Fig. 1), about 3 wt % magne-
sium is dissolved [9], and the addition of only 1%
properties by approximately twofold due to solid-solu-
tion strengthening [2]. This makes it possible to use
copper–magnesium alloys for fabricating contact
wires for railway transport: conventional copper wire
cannot bear shock loads that arise upon the passage of
electric multiple unit trains [4]. The functional prop-
erties of Cu–Mg alloys are on the level of known high-
strength conductors on the base of Cu–Be [10] and
Cu–Ag [11] and fre of a considerably lower cost. The
optimum combination of high strength and electrically
conductive properties is demonstrated by samples with
compositions close to the eutectics 76.9 at % Cu–
23.1 at % Mg [11]. The disadvantage of the copper–
magnesium alloy is a lower corrosion resistance than
in pure copper. For this reason, Cu–Mg alloys con-
taining more than 1 wt % magnesium has no applica-
tion in practice.
It is of interest to produce the Cu/Mg composite in
the copper matrix, where there is a strong core with a
high magnesium content. Hereinafter the composite
material with a clear interface boundary between com-
ponents will be designated by slash (e.g., Cu/Mg), as
distinct from alloys with compositions designated by a
dash (e.g., Cu–Mg). We may assume that the Cu/Mg
composite possesses a number of positive functional
properties: a reduced (as compared to pure copper)

946
 STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF Cu/Mg COMPOSITES 947

Cu, wt %
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 95 100
1084.87°

1000
L
900
797°
800
725° (Cu)
T, °C

700 68.99 93.07

649° 76.9

600 568°
552°
42 64.68
500
0.013 14.5 485°

MgCu2
Mg2Cu
400
(Mg)
300
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Mg Cu, at % Cu

Fig. 1. Phase diagram of the Cu–Mg system [9].

weight density and a high electrical conductivity. In with an outer diameter of 18 mm that was cut from a rod
such a composite the strengthening magnesium-based of М0-grade copper on a lathe. The workpiece of cop-
phase resides inside the copper sheath, therefore its per and magnesium was placed into the working con-
corrosion properties do not differ from pure copper. In tainer of a high-pressure unit. We carried out hydro-
addition, the high damping ability of magnesium static extrusion at room temperature: first through the
means that wires of Cu/Mg composite can effectively press matrix of ∅10 mm and then sequentially through
damp vibrations. Thus, it is of interest (from the view- press matrices of ∅6 and ∅3 mm. To fabricate wires of
point of creating high-strength electric conductors) to a smaller diameter, drawing was used. The right-hand
obtain and investigate bimetallic copper—magnesium part of Fig. 2 contains a photo of the transverse section
composites. of a Cu/1Mg-composite rod of ∅6 mm.
The final aim of our study is to create composite
materials containing numerous magnesium fibers
inside the copper matrix. However, at the first stage of
our investigations we should specify the design of the
initial Cu/Mg composite. Thus, the purpose of this
work was to produce Cu/Mg composites of different
components ratios and subsequently to study their
structures and physicomechanical properties.

2. EXPERIMENTAL
Samples of two composites were produced and
investigated in this work. In one of them, the magne-
sium core was surrounded by the copper sheath, and
the copper matrix of other composite contained seven
magnesium fibers. Further, to simplify notification of
of these composites, the number of magnesium fibers
therein will be designated as follows: Cu/1Mg com-
posite and Cu/7Mg composite. Fig. 2. A schematic of fabricating the Cu/1Mg composite:
a magnesium rod is inserted into a copper cup and then
A schematic image of the process of obtaining sin- this assembly is subjected to hydrostatic extrusion. The
gle-fiber composite is shown in Fig. 2. A magnesium right-hand part of the figure contains a photo of the trans-
rod of ∅12 mm was tightly inserted into the copper cup verse section of the rod of ∅6 mm.

PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 119 No. 10 2018

948
Fig. 3. A schematic of fabricating the Cu/7Mg composite:
seven rods of the Cu/1Mg composite are inserted into a
copper workpiece with holes and then this assembly is sub-
jected to hydrostatic extrusion. The right-hand part of the
figure contains a photo of the transverse section of the rod
of ∅6 mm.
A composite with seven magnesium fibers in the
copper matrix likewise was obtained and studied
(Fig. 3).
To fabricate Cu/7Mg composite, a copper rod with
outer diameter 18 mm was newly taken. In the end of
the copper workpiece in a circle of radius 5.5 mm six
holes of ∅3 mm were drilled at equal distances from
each other. Another hole of ∅3 mm was made at the
center of this workpiece. Segments of the Cu/1Mg-
composite rod ∅3 mm-thick were placed into each of
seven holes. This copper—magnesium assembly was
also subjected to hydrostatic extrusion sequentially
through press matrices of ∅10 and ∅6 mm. The right-
hand part of Fig. 3 contains a photo of the Cu/7Mg-
composite polished section after hydrostatic extrusion
through the press matrix of ∅6 mm. The ratio of com-
ponents in these composites is presented in Table 1.
The stages of hydrostatic extrusion of rods and
drawing of wires from the both composites were iden-
tical. We studied samples of the composites after both
deformation and annealing at different temperatures.
We performed all heat treatments in the evacuated
quarts and glass capsules.
Table 1. Content of components in the studied Cu/Mg composites
Composite vol. fraction, %
Cu Mg
Cu/1Mg 55.5 44.5
Cu/7Mg 91.4 8.6
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY
VOLKOV et al.
Samples of two diameters were employed to inves-
tigate properties: of ∅1.5 mm for mechanical tests and
of ∅0.25 mm for resistometry. The true deformation
of the samples was determined as:
e = ln ( S0 Str ) , (1)
where S0 is the cross-sectional area of the initial work-
piece ∅18 mm-thick and Str is the cross-sectional area
of the corresponding sample. Thus, the true deforma-
tion of the samples for mechanical tests and resistom-
etry was е ≈ 5.0 and е ≈ 8.6, respectively.
We studied the electrical properties of composites
using the conventional four-contact method at a
direct current of 20 mA. The specific electrical resis-
tance (ρ) of composites at room temperature was mea-
sured in a tailor-made conductor with a set of termi-
nals, and the voltage drop was determined between
five different pairs of terminals, whereupon the aver-
age value was determined. Our earlier estimate in [12]
showed that the error of measuring the value of spe-
cific electrical resistance in such a procedure is 0.04 ×
10–8 Ω m. Temperature dependences of the electrical
resistance of samples in an evacuated cell likewise
were constructed upon heating and cooling with a rate
of 120 K/h.
We performed mechanical tests for tension on an
Instron 5982 machine at a tensile strain rate of
3 mm/min, and no fewer than five samples whose
gage part was 30 mm long were tested. We used a
QUANTA 200 scanning electron microscope to study
the structure.
3. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
3.1. Structure and Mechanical Properties
of Composites after Hydrostatic Extrusion
Figure 2 displays a photo of the transverse section
of the Cu/1Mg-composite rod of ∅6 mm produced as
a result of two stages of hydrostatic extrusion. On the
polished section a magnesium core occupying a con-
siderable internal volume can be seen clearly. Volume
fractions of components in the fabricated composite
are 55.5 Cu–44.5 Mg (Table 1).
A photo of the transverse section of the Cu/7Mg-
composite rod is shown in the right-hand part of
Fig. 3. Despite the fact that this composite contains
seven magnesium fibers, the magnesium content in it
Average content of components
wt % at %
Cu Mg Cu Mg
86.4 13.6 70.9 29.1
98.2 1.8 95.3 4.7
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 STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF Cu/Mg COMPOSITES
Table 2. Physicomechanical properties of composites
Composite
Experiment
Density, g/cm3 Calculation
Specific electrical resistance ρ, 10–8 Ω m Experiment
(е ≈ 8.6) Calculation
Experiment
Yield strength σ0.2, MPa (е ≈ 5.0)
Calculation
is much lower than in the Cu/1Mg composite. Indeed,
the ratio of volume fractions of components in this
composite is 91.4 Cu–8.6 Mg (Table 1). Upon com-
parison with the phase diagram (Fig. 1) we can see that
the Cu/1Mg-composite composition is near the
eutectics 76.9 at % Cu–23.1 at % Mg with some excess
of magnesium. The Cu/7Mg-composite composition
is at the boundary of this eutectics and the supersatu-
rated solid solution of magnesium in copper.
As magnesium occupies an appreciable internal
volume, the density of the Cu/1Mg composite is much
lower than of pure copper and is ~5.5 g/cm3 (Table 2).
The density in this case was determined experimen-
tally by measuring the mass and volume of samples.
However, the composite density can be easily calcu-
lated with the use of volume fractions of components
(Table 1). We can see from Table 2 that there is a dif-
ference between the results of calculation and experi-
ment. It is likely that the true thickness of the copper
sheath was somewhat smaller than that taken for cal-
culations. This is possibly caused by higher rigidity of
magnesium: during deformation we noted that the
copper wall flows somewhat faster than the magne-
sium core.
Growth of the copper content in the Cu/7Mg com-
posite favors an enhancement in its density (Table 2).
The experimental value (8.1 g/cm3) again slightly dif-
fers from the calculated value (8.3 g/cm3).
There are approaches that make it possible to esti-
mate the physicomechanical properties of bimetallic
composites with reasonable accuracy. For example, in
[13] the rule of mixtures is discussed, and its applica-
tion allows us to calculate strength properties of com-
posites.
This approach has its limitations. The rule does not
work for nano-sized thicknesses of composites. In
addition, no new phases at the interface of its compo-
nents are expected to be formed in the process of pro-
ducing this composite. The Cu/Mg composites
obtained in this work satisfy the requirements men-
tioned above. Indeed, in samples of ∅1.5 mm for
mechanical tests the diameter of the magnesium fiber
in the Cu/7Mg composite is about 0.17 mm, whereas
the size of the magnesium core in the Cu/1Mg com-
posite is about 1 mm. It is unlikely that during hydro-
static extrusion some phases at the interface surface of
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 119
949
Cu/1Mg Cu/7Mg
5.5 8.1
5.7 8.3
2.35 2.07
2.52 1.93
290 322
250 330
the components are formed (in this case the reactions
of mechanical alloying possible upon SPD can be
neglected [14]). We used the rule of mixtures to esti-
mate yield strengths of deformed composites (Table 2)
for this reason.
With allowance for concepts presented in [13], the
( )
Cu Mg
yield strength of Cu/Mg composite σ0.2 can be
calculated by the formula
Cu Mg
σ0.2 = VCuσCu
0.2 + VMg σ0.2 ,
Mg
(2)
where VCu and VMg are the volume fractions of copper
and magnesium (VCu + VMg = 1) and σCu 0.2 σ0.2 are the
Mg
corresponding yield strengths.
As seen in [13], when conducting estimations
according to the rule of mixtures, it is important to
take the method of producing composite into account.
For example, upon consideration of a layered com-
posite produced by rolling it is necessary to select data
on the properties of components of the composite
after rolling. In our case when calculating the strength
of Cu/Mg composites it is necessary for this reason to
reveal mechanical properties of each of components
after hydrostatic extrusion and drawing. The magni-
tude of deformation in this case plays a secondary role:
first at large deformations the processes of relaxation
are involved with the result that strength properties of
the material remain almost unaltered. In addition, our
calculations are merely estimates and are aimed at
revealing the possibilities of the rule of mixtures when
calculating strength properties of Cu/Mg-composite
samples and comparing them with the experimental
results.
We previously carried out experiments investigat-
ing the mechanical properties of samples of severely
deformed copper [15]. The yield strength of copper
after drawing (е ≈ 2.3) was σCu 0.2 ≈ 350 MPa. The
mechanical properties of magnesium after hydrostatic
extrusion and drawing with the total deformation е ≈
3.2 were determined in [16]. The yield strength of such
severely deformed magnesium rods was σMg 0.2 ≈
125 MPa. Thus, according to formula (1), the yield
strength of the Cu/1Mg composite can be estimated as
Cu Mg
σ0.2 ≈ 250 MPa.
No. 10 2018
950
12
10
ρ, 10–8 Ω m
8 increase in the number of dissimilar defects in the
6 electrical conductivity. According to our data, the spe-
4 cated of it) in the annealed state is ρ = 1.78 × 10–8 Ω m.
2 tance of pure copper (ρ = 1.73 × 10–8 Ω m), but it is
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
T, °C
Fig. 4. A temperature dependence of the specific electrical
resistance of the Cu/1Mg composite upon heating and
cooling with a rate of 120 K/h.
Mechanical tests revealed a rather large difference
between the experimental result and calculated values
for single-fiber composite (Table 2). Indeed, the
Cu/1Mg composite proved to be stronger by almost
14%: the yield strength of the samples is σ0.2 =
290 MPa. We can assume that such a result is caused
by differences in the deformation flow between com-
posite components (copper and magnesium) with dif-
ferent crystalline structure (fcc and hcp lattices,
respectively). Authors of [13] came to the same con-
clusion: the results of their calculations for composites
of two aluminum alloys almost coincided with our
experiments but were strongly divergent when operat-
ing with Al/Mg composite.
In its turn, the experimental (σ0.2 = 322 MPa) and
calculated (σ0.2 ≈ 330 MPa) yield-strength values of
the Cu/7Mg composite proved to be close to each
other. It is likely that in this case strength properties of
the samples are largely determined by the copper
matrix and the contribution of magnesium is insignif-
icant because of the small size of its volume.
3.2. Electrical Properties of Deformed Composites
We showed earlier [17] that the electrical resistance
of layered composites can be calculated from the
known formula for conductors connected in parallel.
In this case composite components are conductors,
and the volume fraction of each component should be
taken into account. Such an approach is applicable
only when no additional phases are present on the
interface of composite components
Calculation of the specific electrical resistance of
deformed Cu/Mg composites (ρCu/Mg) was conducted
according to the procedure from [17] with the use of
formula
Cu Mg
1ρ = VCu ρCu + VMg ρMg ,
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY
VOLKOV et al.
where VCu and VMg are the volume fractions of copper
and magnesium and ρCu and ρMg are the specific elec-
trical resistances of copper and magnesium in a
severely deformed state.
As we know, deformation brings about a sharp
structure of the material, which leads to a decrease in its
cific electrical resistance of copper (container is fabri-
This value is slightly higher than the electrical resis-
within specifications for copper of the grade М0 [1].
700 After SPD (е ≈ 6.0) the specific electrical resistance
of copper samples which we used grows to ρ = 1.83 ×
10–8 Ω m. We took this value for calculations.
We took from [18] the specific electrical resistance
of magnesium after SPD for samples produced by roll-
ing: ρ = 4.77 × 10–8 Ω m. As we know, plastic defor-
mation activates the processes of dynamic recrystalli-
zation [19] in magnesium. Therefore, it is unlikely that
the specific electrical resistance of magnesium after
hydrostatic extrusion and drawing will markedly differ
from the specific electrical resistance of rolled magne-
sium.
According to the calculation (Table 2), the specific
electrical resistance of the deformed Cu/1Mg com-
posite is ρCu/1Mg ≈ 2.52 × 10–8 Ω m, and with growth of
the copper content in the Cu/7Mg composite it natu-
rally drops to ρCu/7Mg ≈ 1.93 × 10–8 Ω m.
The experiment showed that after SPD with the use
of our scheme (е ≈ 8.6) the specific electrical resis-
tances of the Cu/1Mg and Cu/7Mg composites are
ρCu/1Mg = 2.35 × 10–8 Ω m and ρCu/7Mg = 2.07 × 10–8 Ω m,
respectively. Comparison of the results revealed a sat-
isfactory agreement between the calculated and exper-
imental values: the discrepancy was ~7%.
Thus, the approach suggested in [17] allows us to
estimate with reasonable accuracy, the specific electri-
cal resistance of conductors of Cu/Mg composites.
3.3. Influence of Heat Treatment on the Structure
and Electrical Properties of Cu/Mg Composites
Studying the microstructure and properties of the
Cu/1Mg composite was complicated by partial melt-
ing of its core owing to annealing at elevated tempera-
tures. For example, holding of the composite at a tem-
perature of 750°С for 15 min resulted in the appear-
ance of molten droplets at the ends. Wire samples in
this case became stronger but lost their shape: their
circular transverse section became the oval section. To
avoid undesirable changes in the shape of the compos-
ite wire, we did not heat it above 700°С during resisto-
metric measurements.
Upon heating of the sample, we observed two sec-
tions with jumplike growth of electrical resistance
(Fig. 4). This occurs at temperatures ~490 and
(3) ~565°С. Note that the transformation near 565°С is
Vol. 119 No. 10 2018
 STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF Cu/Mg COMPOSITES
reversible: upon cooling of the sample the electrical
resistance likewise abruptly decreases with some tem-
perature hysteresis. As distinct from heating, upon
cooling of the sample in the neighborhood of 490°С,
no changes in the dependence of the electrical resis-
tance are observed.
Figure 5 displays the microstructure formed at the
interface of components in the Cu/1Mg composite
due to annealing at 500°С for 15 min. It is clearly seen
that a thin interlayer (2) with the composition close to
intermetallic compound Cu2Mg is adjacent to the
copper matrix (1). The next thicker layer (3) is the
intermetallic compound CuMg2. The entire right-
hand part of the composite structure is the eutectic
mixture consisting of magnesium-based solid solution
with plate-type inclusions of the intermetallic com-
pound CuMg2.
The microstructure in Fig. 5 is entirely consistent
with known concepts on the phase formation at the
Cu/Mg interface. We showed earlier that upon heating
of the Cu/Mg diffusion pair above 200°С the first
phase beginning to form at the interphase boundary of
components is the intermetallic CuMg2 phase [20].
Heating above 400°С under the conditions of excess of
copper gives rise to the intermetallic compound
Cu2Mg. In [21] it is shown that the diffusion mobility
of copper in magnesium is considerably higher than
the diffusion mobility of magnesium in copper. For
this reason, at the Cu/Mg interface the intermetallic
CuMg2 layer grows much more rapidly as compared to
the Cu2Mg layer. The ratio of thicknesses of the CuMg2
and Cu2Mg layers corroborates this conclusion.
The percent content of copper and magnesium in
each of sections of the microstructure is listed in Table 3.
In section 2 (Fig. 5) the ratio of components is deter-
mined as 60 Cu : 40 Mg, which is somewhat inconsis-
tent with the Cu2Mg stoichiometry. The error in this
case is caused by a small transverse size of this section
with the result that a microanalyzer takes hold of radi-
ation from neighboring regions.
Comparison of the results of microstructural study
(Fig. 5) and phase diagram (Fig. 1) allows us to under-
stand features revealed in the plot of a temperature
dependence of the electrical resistance upon heating
Table 3. Content of copper and magnesium in different sections of the microstructure
No. of section in Fig. 5 Cu
wt %
1 100
2 79.36
3 58.59
4 32.08
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 119
951
1 2 3 4
30 kV ×3000 10 μm
Fig. 5. The microstructure of the interface of components
in the Cu/1Mg composite after annealing at 500°С for
15 min.
of the Cu/1Mg composite (Fig. 4). Initially at the cop-
per–magnesium boundary an intermetallic CuMg2
layer begins to form. Above 400°С, in full accordance
with [21], the interphase boundary of composite com-
ponents consists of several layers with the sequence:
Cu/Cu2Mg/CuMg2/Mg. At 490°С the first eutectic
reaction with the participation of magnesium and an
intermetallic CuMg2 layer takes place. It is this fact
that caused the appearance of the first step in the tem-
perature dependence of electrical resistance (Fig. 4).
After this stage the presence of magnesium fiber in this
composite is not fixed, and the sequence of layers
becomes the following: Cu/Cu2Mg/CuMg2 + magne-
sium-based solid solution (Fig. 5).
Upon a further rise in temperature, the formation
of the Cu2Mg layer continues due to inflow of magne-
sium atoms into the copper sheath. This intermetallic
compound then participates in the following eutectic
reaction at a temperature of ~560°С. Thus, the steps at
490 and 560°С observed in the plot of the temperature
dependence of electrical resistance of the Cu/1Mg
composite (Fig. 4) correspond to eutectic transforma-
tions in the phase diagram (Fig. 1). We noted the lack
Composite components
Mg
at % wt % at %
100 0 0
59.53 20.64 40.47
35.12 41.41 64.88
15.30 67.92 84.70
No. 10 2018
952
14
12
ρ, 10–8 Ω m
10
8 and subsequent cooling cause a considerable enhance-
6 ment in the electrical resistance. As we know, anneal-
4 deformed structure, which favorably affects the elec-
2 above-given data for copper reads: the specific electri-
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
T, °C
Fig. 6. A temperature dependence of the specific electrical
resistance of the Cu/7Mg composite upon heating and
cooling with a rate of 120 K/h.
2 As distinct from the Cu/1Mg composite, Cu/7Mg-
1 3
200 μm
Fig. 7. The Cu/7Mg-composite microstructure produced
as a result of heating to 750°С with a rate of 120 K/h.
of a response in the temperature dependence of elec-
trical resistance near the melting point of magnesium
(~650°С). This supports the results of microstructural
studies (Fig. 5): the Mg fiber completely reacted with
the Cu matrix at 500°С.
At the Cu/Mg interface upon cooling of the
Cu/1Mg composite from 700 to 555°С, the eutectic
decomposition of the melt occurs with the formation
of a mixture of the Cu2Mg and CuMg2 intermetallic
compounds (Fig. 1). Since the solid-state conductivity
is substantially higher compared to the melt, crystalli-
zation is accompanied by a jumplike decrease in the
electrical resistance (Fig. 4). Upon further cooling no
changes in the plot of the temperature dependence of
electrical resistance are fixed. We can therefore con-
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY
VOLKOV et al.
clude that no structural transformations in the
Cu/1Mg composite take place.
Upon a comparison of positions of extreme left
points in the resistometric curve (Fig. 4), it is clearly
seen that the transformations occurred in the initially
deformed Cu/1Mg composite upon heating to 700°С
ing leads to a decrease in the defectiveness of the
trical resistance of the material. For example, the
cal resistance of annealed samples is a few percent lower
than in deformed samples. In its turn, the electrical
resistance of the initially deformed (е ≈ 8.6) Cu/1Mg-
composite sample after annealing increases almost by a
factor of 1.5 (Fig. 4). This can be explained by the for-
mation in this composite of several intermetallic phases
and magnesium-based solid solution (Fig. 5).
In closing our discussion on features of the
Cu/1Mg-composite structure, we should note that
transformations occurring upon annealing give rise to
a ring-shaped crack along the copper–magnesium
interface (Fig. 5). The nature of this phenomenon is
still to be understood. However, we would not expect
a high strength in the material with cracks.
composite samples do not lose their shape upon heat-
ing to 750°С. This allowed us to perform heating up to
higher temperatures during the resistometric investi-
gation of the Cu/7Mg composite (Fig. 6).
In the temperature dependence of electrical resis-
tance of the Cu/7Mg-composite sample, there are
three steps and the temperature of each of these corre-
sponds to certain eutectics in the phase diagram
(Fig. 1). A particularly high jump of the electrical
resistance occurs at 730°С, which is due to the forma-
tion of the eutectics based on copper and a Cu2Mg
intermetallic compound. We should note that at tem-
peratures above 730°С we observed the rapid growth
of the electrical resistance upon both heating and
cooling (Fig. 6). This may be related to gradual disso-
lution of the copper sheath in the melt. Growth of the
electrical resistance ceases only upon cooling of the
sample below the eutectic decomposition tempera-
ture. Upon further cooling of the Cu/7Mg composite
no features in the plot of the temperature dependence
of electrical resistance (Fig. 6) are fixed.
The formation of a large volume of the new phase
markedly affects the electrical resistance of the mate-
rial. After the initially deformed Cu/7Mg composite is
heated to 750°С and cooled to room temperature, its
electrical resistance increases by approximately two-
fold (Fig. 6). Based on these data we can state that
almost the entire central part of the sample is occupied
by eutectics.
Figure 7 displays the microstructure formed in the
Cu/7Mg-composite sample of ∅1.5 mm as a result of
Vol. 119 No. 10 2018
 STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF Cu/Mg COMPOSITES
heating to 750°С with a rate of 120 K/h. At the upper
right corner of this photo a part of the copper sheath of
the composite is clearly seen and the central fiber is
located at the left center.
As distinct from the initial sample of ∅6 mm
(Fig. 3), only one central fiber is round in shape
(Fig. 7); the other fibers became oval. This arises from
features of sample preparation: wire samples of
∅1.5 mm are fabricated by drawing during which
near-surface layers of the material are subjected to the
greatest deformation.
In the initial Cu/7Mg-composite sample of
∅1.5 mm the diameter of magnesium fibers was
~170 μm. Heating to 750°С caused a considerable
increase in the fiber size (to ~350 μm). In Fig. 7 it is
clearly seen that copper connecting strips between
fibers became very thin and some of fibers were virtu-
ally joined after heat treatment.
The elemental analysis performed from different
regions of the microstructure detected an interesting
feature (Table 4). Comparison with the phase diagram
(Fig. 1) shows that in the formed eutectics during heat
treatment the greatest possible amount of copper was
dissolved (sections 1 and 3 in Fig. 7). Moreover, some
magnesium content (0.76 at %) is revealed in the cop-
per matrix (section 2 in Fig. 7). However, such a low
value can also be explained by the background from
neighboring sections of the eutectics.
4. DISCUSSION
This work was aimed at finding new approaches to
creating copper-based semiconductor materials with
optimum properties: a combination of high strength
and enhanced electrical conductivity. Before we
obtained our results, it was unclear whether it was pos-
sible to create high-strength Cu/Mg composites.
It is likely that the key problem limiting studies in
this area is that it is not clear if high-strength proper-
ties can be reached in such composites. Indeed, it is
difficult to achieve the reinforcement of copper
because of the introduction of noticeably less strong
magnesium fibers. As we showed above, preliminary
estimates of strength properties of Cu/Mg composites
do nothing to dispel these doubts (Table 2).
The current leading approach upon the creation of
composites is the reinforcement of the soft matrix by
introducing fibers of a stronger material. For example,
the core of a high-strength Al alloy is introduced into
magnesium [22]; copper is reinforced by niobium
fibers [8]; strength properties of gold are enhanced by
the introduction of nano-sized platinum fibers [23].
As a rule, no high-temperature annealings of such
composites are planned, because they lead to the
coalescence of fibers and, therefore, to the degrada-
tion of properties [8].
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY Vol. 119
953
Table 4. Content of copper and magnesium in different
sections of the microstructure in Fig. 7
Composite components
No. of section Cu Mg
wt % at % wt % at %
1 97.94 94.98 2.06 5.22
2 99.71 99.24 0.29 0.76
3 97.12 93.03 2.78 6.97
As distinct from the approach mentioned above,
we assumed from the outset that we would use heat
treatment at the final stage of producing composites.
The idea is to strengthen Cu/Mg composites by the
forming new phases based on the intermetallic com-
pounds Cu2Mg and CuMg2 at the interface. The anal-
ogous approach was already employed, for example, to
reinforce Ti/Al composites through the formation of
different titanium aluminides at the interface of het-
erogeneous layers [24]. In addition, SPD upon pro-
duction of composites can favor mechanical alloying
of components at the interface [14]. We should men-
tion that according to [13], the use in the composites
of elements with different types of crystal lattice like-
wise favor their strengthening. All the factors listed
above can result in growth of strength properties of
Cu/Mg composites as compared to pure copper.
The composition of the studied Cu/Mg composites
was chosen near the eutectics 76.9 at % Cu–23.1 at % Mg.
In [11] such a composition was considered promising
for creating high-strength electric conductors. In our
case, in the Cu/1Mg composite the magnesium con-
tent was higher, and in the Cu/7Mg composite copper
was dominant. The investigation established that the
proportion of components in the Cu/1Mg composite
is irrational from the viewpoint of creating semicon-
ductor materials on its base: heating above the eutectic
transition temperature (~723°С) leads to dissolution
of the copper sheath by magnesium. However, rods of
the Cu/1Mg composite can serve as workpieces when
fabricating multistrand Cu/Mg composites.
The Cu/7Mg composite studied in this work is the
first step in creating composites in the copper matrix
of which numerous thin magnesium fibers are located.
The high-temperature treatment of such Cu/Mg com-
posites will allow one to form at the site of each of
magnesium fibers a high-strength eutectics-based
strand that will play role of a reinforcing component.
The investigations performed on Cu/7Mg-composite
samples mostly confirmed the viability of this idea. We
established that the Cu/7Mg composite holds heating
to 750°С with the result that the eutectics based on the
copper and intermetallic compound Cu2Mg is formed
No. 10 2018
954 VOLKOV et al.
in the copper matrix. The creation of high-strength
eutectics inside the copper sheath of the composite
was the primary aim of this study.
The investigation allowed us to understand the
structure evolution of Cu/Mg composites during
deformation and subsequent heat treatments. The
next step is to undertake the formation of a high-
strength state in these composites on the basis of the
results obtained. As already described above, intro-
duction into copper of even a small amount of magne-
sium leads to a substantial enhancement in the alloy
strength [2]. At a higher magnesium content in copper
a supersaturated solid solution can be obtained
(Fig. 1). It is clear that after quenching, the low-tem-
perature annealing of such a composition will result in
dispersion hardening. In [2] we showed that this
reserve for strengthening of copper–magnesium alloys
is rarely used.
5. CONCLUSIONS
Our investigation showed that the creation of cop-
per—magnesium composites to produce conductors
with high-strength properties shows some promise.
Studying produced composites revealed the possibility
of forming eutectics of different composition at the
Cu/Mg interface. Patterns of the formation of strength
and electrical properties of Cu/Mg composites
became clear. We revealed that using preliminary cal-
culations allows us to estimate with reasonable accu-
racy, the physicomechanical characteristics of com-
posite in the process of production of which no new
phases arise at the interface. We showed that the accu-
racy of such an estimate is minimum when volumes of
components are comparable and sharply increases
with the growth of volume of either composite compo-
nent. This investigation confirmed that the formation
of new phases at the interface leads to an abrupt
change in the physicomechanical properties of com-
posites. At the same time note that a set of physicom-
echanical properties (Table 2) obtained in this work
remains very far from the optimum [2].
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was performed within the framework of
a State Assignment of the Federal Agency of Scientific
Organizations of the Russian Federation (theme Dav-
lenie, no. АААА-А18-118020190104-3) and was sup-
ported by the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, project no. 18-10-2-24. The structure and
mechanical properties of the samples were studied
using the equipment pool of the Electron Microscopy
Department and Mechanical Test Department of the
Collective-Use Center of the Institute of Metal Phys-
ics (Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences).
PHYSICS OF METALS AND METALLOGRAPHY
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Translated by I. Krasnov
No. 10 2018