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Acta Metall Sin  2026, Vol. 62 Issue (6): 1091-1104    DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2025.00368
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Microstructural Evolution and Strengthening Mechanisms of Cu-Ni-Si/1010 Steel Bimetallic Composites via Direct Annealing and Cold Rolling + Annealing
WANG Mingfei1, TAO Meiyue1, GONG Chen1, PENG Bo1, LI Tingju1,2, JIE Jinchuan1,2()
1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
2 Ningbo Research Institute of Dalian University of Technology, Ningbo 315000, China
Cite this article: 

WANG Mingfei, TAO Meiyue, GONG Chen, PENG Bo, LI Tingju, JIE Jinchuan. Microstructural Evolution and Strengthening Mechanisms of Cu-Ni-Si/1010 Steel Bimetallic Composites via Direct Annealing and Cold Rolling + Annealing. Acta Metall Sin, 2026, 62(6): 1091-1104.

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Abstract  

High-performance materials are in strong demand in the electronics and automotive industries. Cu-Ni-Si alloys are widely used owing to their excellent combination of strength and electrical conductivity, whereas 1010 steel provides superior formability, high elastic modulus, and cost-effectiveness. Integrating these materials into laminated bimetallic composites represents a promising strategy for achieving structural-functional integration, thereby overcoming the trade-offs inherent in single-component metals. However, fabrication of such composites remains challenging, primarily due to poor wettability and limited mutual solubility between Cu and Fe, which often result in weak interfacial bonding and coarse as-cast microstructures. Therefore, the development of effective fabrication methods and appropriate post-processing routes to tailor microstructure and optimize mechanical properties is essential for industrial application. In this study, Cu-Ni-Si/1010 steel laminated bimetallic composite was successfully fabricated via continuous solid-liquid bonding method. To investigate the effects of annealing and cold rolling followed by annealing on microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior, the composites were subjected to four conditions: as-cast (sample S1), direct annealing at 450 °C (sample S2), 70% cold rolling followed by annealing at 450 °C (sample S3), and 70% cold rolling (sample S4). Microstructural and mechanical characterization was performed using OM, SEM, TEM, and tensile testing to elucidate the relationships among processing parameters, interfacial characteristics, and strengthening mechanisms. The Cu-Ni-Si layer in sample S1 exhibits coarse columnar grains, with a minor β-Ni3Si phase located at α-Cu grain boundaries. Direct annealing promotes the formation of nanoscale δ-Ni2Si precipitates within the α-Cu matrix, contributing to strengthening. In contrast, the combined cold rolling and annealing treatment induces more pronounced microstructural evolution: severe plastic deformation increases dislocation density and refines the grain structure into the fibrous morphology due to incomplete recrystallization. No brittle intermetallic compounds are observed at the interface under any condition. Samples S3 and S4 exhibit wavy, well-bonded interfaces, indicating enhanced interfacial diffusion and metallurgical bonding. Tensile testing shows that sample S3 achieves the highest ultimate tensile strength (613 MPa), significantly exceeding those of sample S1 (379 MPa) and sample S2 (415 MPa), which is attributed to the synergistic effects of work hardening, precipitation strengthening, and hetero-deformation induced strengthening. Although ductility decreases slightly in sample S3, the elongation remains relatively high at 18.4%, whereas sample S4 exhibits the lowest elongation (12.6%), which is detrimental to subsequent forming. Importantly, all samples fracture within the matrix without interfacial delamination, confirming robust metallurgical bonding. These results indicate that direct annealing enhances both strength and ductility in Cu-Ni-Si/1010 steel laminated bimetallic composites, while cold rolling followed by annealing is an effective strategy for substantially increasing strength while preserving interfacial integrity.

Key words:  bimetallic composites      microstructure control      precipitation strengthening      work hardening      hetero-deformation induced strengthening     
Received:  14 November 2025     
ZTFLH:  TG14  
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(U23A20611);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52071050);Science and Technology Innovation Project of Ningbo(2024Z077);Science and Technology Innovation Project of Ningbo(2023Z100);China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2024M750312);China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(GZB20240091);Liaoning Province Doctoral Research Start-up Fund Program Project(2025-BS-0043)
Corresponding Authors:  JIE Jinchuan, professor, Tel: 15941130325, E-mail: jiejc@dlut.edu.cn

URL: 

https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2025.00368     OR     https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2026/V62/I6/1091

MaterialCSiMnCrNiCuFe
Cu-Ni-Si-0.50--2.10Bal.-
1010 steel0.090.360.400.10--Bal.
Table 1  Chemical compositions of the Cu-Ni-Si alloy and 1010 steel
Fig.1  Schematics of Cu-Ni-Si/1010 steel laminated bimetallic composites prepared by solid-liquid bonding, different post-processing processes, and specimen size for mechanical property testing (unit: mm)
Fig.2  OM images of samples S1 (a1-a3), S2 (b1-b3), S3 (c1-c3), and S4 (d1-d3) (The as-cast sample served as the reference specimen without any subsequent treatment, labeled as S1. The bimetallic laminated composite directly annealed at 450 oC was labeled as S2. The bimetallic laminated composite subjected to cold rolling with the 70% reduction ratio followed by annealing at 450 oC was labeled as S3. To elucidate the strengthening mechanism of rolling + annealing more clearly, the bimetallic laminated composite with only 70% cold rolling was included as an additional control group, labeled as S4) (a1-d1) Cu-Ni-Si alloy sides (a2-d2) interface regions (a3-d3) 1010 steel sides
Fig.3  EPMA line scan results at the interfaces of samples S1 (a), S2 (b), S3 (c), and S4 (d)
Fig.4  EBSD analysis results of samples S1-S4 near the interface (a1-d1) inverse pole figures (IPFs) of Cu-Ni-Si side in samples S1 (a1), S2 (b1), S3 (c1), and S4 (d1) (a2-d2) grain size distribution histograms corresponding to Figs.4a1-d1, respectively (a3-d3) IPFs of 1010 steel side in samples S1 (a3), S2 (b3), S3 (c3), and S4 (d3) (a4-d4) grain size distribution histograms corresponding to Figs.4a3-d3, respectively
Fig.5  XRD patterns of Cu-Ni-Si alloy in samples S1-S4
Fig.6  TEM characterizations of Cu-Ni-Si matrix and precipitation phases in samples S1 (a-c), S2 (d-f), and S3 (g-i) (a, d, g) bright field TEM images of Cu-Ni-Si matrix (b, e, h) HRTEM images of square areas in Figs.6a, d, and g, respectively (Insets in Figs.6b and e show the corresponding SAED patterns) (c, f) bright field TEM images of precipitation phases at grain boundary (Insets show the corresponding SAED patterns) (i) TEM image and corresponding EDS element distribution maps of sample S3
Fig.7  Microhardness distribution curves (a) and average microhardnesses (b) of samples S1-S4 in Cu-Ni-Si side, 1010 steel side, and interface (The negative values of position in Fig.7a indicate the Cu-Ni-Si side, positive values indicate the 1010 steel side, and the coordinate origin “0.0” is defined as the center of the interface, respectively)
Fig.8  Tensile properties of samples S1-S4
(a) engineering stress-strain curves
(b) average yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and elongation (EL)
Fig.9  Low (a, c, e, g) and high (b, d, f, h) magnified SEM images showing the fracture surface morphologies of samples S1 (a, b), S2 (c, d), S3 (e, f), and S4 (g, h)
Fig.10  Cu-Ni-xSi pseudo-binary phase diagram (a), Cu-Ni-Si phase transition curves (b), Cu-Ni-Si isothermal phase diagram at 450 oC (c), and Fe-C binary phase diagram (d)
Fig.11  Dislocation analyses of samples S1-S4 (a1-d1) kernel average misorientation (KAM) maps of Cu-Ni-Si alloy side in samples S1 (a1), S2 (b1), S3 (c1), and S4 (d1) (a2-d2) geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density distributions corresponding to Figs.11a1-d1, respectively (GNDave.—average GND density) (a3-d3) KAM maps of 1010 steel side in samples S1 (a3), S2 (b3), S3 (c3), and S4 (d3) (a4-d4) GND density distributions corresponding to Figs.11a3-d3, respectively
Fig.12  True stress-strain curves (a, c) and evolutions of hetero-deformation induced (HDI) stress with strain (b, d) for samples S1 and S2 (a, b) and S3 (c, d)
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