Compaction of a mixture of copper and molybdenum nanopowders modeled by the molecular dynamics method

A problem of compacting a mixture of copper and molybdenum nanopowders under the action of external loading generated by a spherical piston is solved by the molecular dynamics method. Interatomic interaction is calculated with the use of a multiparticle potential obtained by the embedded atom method. It is shown that compaction leads to significant deformations in copper, resulting in the loss of the crystalline structure; copper nanoparticles melt and fill the entire porous space. Molybdenum particles are deformed to a much smaller extent; they are not destroyed and preserve their crystalline structure. Under high loading, there appear voids in copper at the stage of compact extension; these voids rapidly grow in size and coagulate into one large void located in the nanocell center.