Estudo da modificação microestrutural, mecânica e textura cristalográfica do cobre refinado a fogo processado por extrusão em canal angular

Abstract

Fire-refined copper (FRHC) plays a vital role in sectors such as electronics and power transmission, standing out for its high electrical and thermal conductivity, as well as its resistance to corrosion. Currently, some studies are focused on the production of conductive materials with better electrical and mechanical properties. Severe plastic deformation processes, especially ECAP (equal channel, angular pressing or angular channel extrusion) are a promising method that significantly refines the microstructure and can influence the development of an adequate crystallographic texture. The objective of this work was to investigate the microstructural, mechanical, textural and electrical evolution of fire-refined copper (FRHC) processed by ECAP. The material was subjected to ECAP deformation at room temperature via the Bc route, with a constant speed during the process. The microstructures were evaluated using optical microscopy (OM). X-ray diffractograms (XRD) were carried out to identify the phases present and determine the crystallographic textures. Vickers microhardness was measured at each processing stage. The combination of techniques such as MO, XRD, texture and microhardness provided a complete view of the transformations occurring in copper during processing. The results demonstrate an increase in resistance after 4 passes. The crystallographic texture evolves gradually with deformation sequencing, with the strong presence of Goss and Rotated Cube textures in most passes.