Effects of Electric Current on the Mechanical Properties of Cu/Nb Multilayer Composites by Accumulative Roll Bonding

Cu/Nb multilayer composites with a continuous layered structure were fabricated using accumulative roll bonding (ARB). The effects of Joule heating on the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of these composites under electrically assisted tension (EAT) at different current densities were investigated. It is observed that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) exhibits a progressive decline with the increasing current density. When the current density reaches 120 A/mm², the UTS decreases by 68.9 MPa, and this decline tends to saturate at high current densities. Furthermore, the elongation (EL) displays significant enhancement at current densities of 40 A/mm² and 80 A/mm², particularly reaching a maximum improvement of 42.1% at 80 A/mm² when compared with room temperature (RT). The fracture mode observed during the EAT process is consistent with that at RT, which remains a ductile fracture.