Mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of copper based hybrid composites synthesized by stir casting

Abstract

In this work, we are reporting development of copper – highly strained stainless steel (HSSS) – tungsten carbide (WC) hybrid composites as well as their mechanical behavior and corrosion resistant properties (0.1 M NaCl). Three types of Cu-HSSS-WC hybrid composites, having different quantity of HSSS (A1-1%, A2-2% and A4-4%), are prepared by stir casting and shaped in strip form. These strips are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis techniques along with micro-structure analysis. The corrosion resistances of the composites are determined by alternating current impedance measurements and Tafel polarization curves. The electrochemical results portray that composites can be arranged as per their corrosion resistance as: A4 > A2 > A1; which is same order of the composites as reported by hardness and ultimate tensile strength values. The results show that the prepared composites have greater hardness, ultimate tensile strength and corrosion resistance in comparison to bare copper.