ALTERNATIVE FABRICATION PROCESSES FOR ULTRAFINE FILAMENT, METAL MATRIX MICROCOMPOSITES

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO INVESTIGATE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCING HIGH STRENGTH, HIGH CONDUCTIVITY CUNB METAL-MATRIX MICROCOMPOSITE BY METHODS OTHER THAN MELTING/CASTING AND POWDER METALLURGY. THREE ALTERNATIVE PROCESSES WILL BE EXAMINED - CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS, RINGS, AND "JELLY ROLL". IF SUCCESSFUL THESE PROCESSES WILL EVENTUALLY PROVIDE A GREATER DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER THE VARIABLES THAT CONTROL STRENGTHENING THAN IS CURRENTLY ENJOYED, AND WILL RESULT IN A FABRICATION PROCESS THAT IS TECHNICALLY SUPERIOR TO AND MORE COST EFFECTIVE THAN THOSE CURRENTLY EMPLOYED. AN ATTEMPT WILL BEMADE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE STRENGTHENING MECHANISM BY STUDYING A SYSTEM THAT IS FAIRLY WELL UNDERSTOOD, AND THEN APPLYING THE KNOWLEDGE TO SYSTEMS THAT ARE OF INTEREST BUT SO FAR HAVE NOT BEEN FABRICATED EITHER BECAUSE OF ALLOYING, INTERMETALLIC FORMATION, OR INCOMPATIBLE MELTING POINTS. SINCE STRENGTH IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SHAPE ATTAINED BY THE FILAMENTS DURING DEFORMATION, WE WILL ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND HOW FILAMENT MORPHOLOGY IS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND HOW IMPORTANT THE DEVELOPMENT OF APREFERRED TEXTURE DURING DEFORMATION IS TO OVERALL STRENGTH.