The main aim of this work was to obtain a copper matrix surface composite using friction stir processing (FSP). The reinforced phase was SiC particles with an average size of 5 mm. The effect of the reinforcement on the microstructure, hardness and wear behaviour were analysed. The friction treatment was carried out using a truncated cone-shaped tool with a threaded side surface. Multi-chamber technology was used to produce the composite microstructure in the copper surface layer. Changes in the material microstructure were assessed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Comparative measurement of the hardness of the initial and treated material as well as wear resistance tests were also carried out. A favourable effect of the surface treatment on the microstructure and properties of the copper was found. As a result of the friction treatment there was strong grain refinement in the copper surface layer. The average grain size in the stirring zone was about 3 mm and was over 21 times smaller than the average grain size in the initial material. Intensive dispersion of the SiC particles in the modified layer was also found, leading to the formation of a copper matrix composite. The effect of microstructural changes in the surface layer of the material and formation of the surface composite was an over two-fold increase in the hardness of the material and an increase in wear resistance.
The paper presents the results of the analysis of the striker shape impact on the shape of the mechanical elastic wave generated in the Hopkinson bar. The influence of the tensometer amplifier bandwidth on the stress-strain characteristics obtained in this method was analyzed too. For the purposes of analyzing under the computing environment ABAQUS / Explicit the test bench model was created, and then the analysis of the process of dynamic deformation of the specimen with specific mechanical parameters was carried out. Based on those tests, it was found that the geometry of the end of the striker has an effect on the form of the loading wave and the spectral width of the signal of that wave. Reduction of the striker end diameter reduces unwanted oscillations, however, adversely affects the time of strain rate stabilization. It was determined for the assumed test bench configuration that a tensometric measurement system with a bandwidth equal to 50 kHz is sufficient