Influences of the Rolling Parameters on Multi-Material Copper-Aluminum Composites via Compound Casting

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Abstract:

Multi-material components that consist of copper and aluminum enable the combination of advantageous mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties at competitive cost. While roll bonding is an efficient-solid state joining technique, its implementation requires fully processed, cold-rolled strip material from two process routes. Continuous compound casting in contrast offers a more efficient approach by combining aluminum and copper during casting, followed by flat rolling in a single process route. However, the differences in flow stress between the metals can cause non-uniform elongation and therefore significant shear stresses at the interface during rolling. These stresses may lead to a delamination of the compound if process conditions are not well controlled. This study investigates whether a geometrically structured interface, introduced during compound casting, can contribute to withstanding interfacial shear stresses through mechanical interlocking. In finite element simulations varying process parameters including height reduction, initial temperature, rolling speed ratio, and pass schedule were examined. Results show that a structured interface can effectively resist shear stresses at the copper-aluminum boundary, thereby improving joint stability during deformation. Furthermore, the strain distribution as well as the fluctuation of the shear stresses can be controlled by the process parameters. The findings indicate that the mechanical interlocking by a geometric interface combined with optimized process parameters can enhance the rolling of compound-cast copper-aluminum composites.

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Materials Science Forum (Volume 1185)

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55-68

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April 2026

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The publication of this article was funded by the RWTH Aachen University 10.13039/501100007210

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