Multiscale modeling of the elastic behavior of architectured and nanostructured Cu-Nb composite wires

TL;DR

This study develops and compares multi-scale models to predict the elastic behavior of nanostructured Cu-Nb composite wires, validated by experimental data, aiding in the design of high-performance magnetic field generators.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive multi-scale modeling approach combining mean-field and finite element models for Cu-Nb wires, highlighting the impact of textures on elastic properties.

Findings

Models show good agreement with experimental data.

Crystallographic and morphological textures significantly influence elastic behavior.

Multi-scale modeling reduces computational effort while maintaining accuracy.

Abstract

Nanostructured and architectured copper niobium composite wires are excellent candidates for the generation of intense pulsed magnetic fields (>90T) as they combine both high strength and high electrical conductivity. Multi-scaled Cu-Nb wires are fabricated by accumulative drawing and bundling (a severe plastic deformation technique), leading to a multiscale, architectured, and nanostructured microstructure exhibiting a strong fiber crystallographic texture and elongated grain shapes along the wire axis. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the effective elastic behavior of this composite material by three multi-scale models accounting for different microstructural contents: two mean-field models and a full-field finite element model. As the specimens exhibit many characteristic scales, several scale transition steps are carried out iteratively from the grain scale to the macro-scale. The general agreement among the model responses allows suggesting the best strategy to estimate the effective behavior of Cu-Nb wires and save computational time. The importance of crystallographical and morphological textures in various cases is discussed. Finally, the models are validated by available experimental data with a good agreement.