Review: Processing of metals by equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) is a processing method in which a metal is subjected to an intense plastic straining through simple shear without any corresponding change in the cross-sectional dimensions of the sample. This procedure may be used to introduce an ultrafine grain size into polycrystalline materials. The principles of the ECAP process are examined with reference to the distortions introduced into a sample as it passes through an ECAP die and especially the effect of rotating the sample between consecutive presses. Examples are presented showing the microstructure introduced by ECAP and the consequent superplastic ductilities that may be attained at very rapid strain rates.     

Processing of a magnesium alloy by equal-channel angular pressing using a back-pressure

Experiments were conducted on the magnesium AZ31 alloy to evaluate the significance of conducting equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) with a back-pressure. Following processing by ECAP, the values of the Vickers microhardness were recorded on the cross-sectional planes and microstructural observations were undertaken using transmission electron microscopy. The results show an increase in the hardness in the first pass with significant microstructural inhomogeneity and a transition towards a more homogeneous structure with subsequent passes. The grain size was measured as 0.9 μm after 8 passes. A comparison with published data on the same alloy processed by ECAP without a back-pressure suggests several advantages in incorporating a back-pressure into ECAP. These advantages include the ability to achieve greater grain refinement, a potential for pressing at lower temperatures and the development of a more rapid evolution towards a homogeneous microstructure.     

Microstructural characteristics of an ultrafine grain metal processed with equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing is a procedure for producing a fully dense material with an ultrafine grain size, typically in the submicrometer or nanometer range, by subjecting the material to a very high plastic strain. This paper describes the principle of equal-channel angular pressing and illustrates the capability of the technique by reference to a series of detailed experiments conducted on an Al-3%Mg solid solution alloy in which the grain size was successfully reduced by equal-channel angular pressing from an initial size of ˜500 μm in the hot-rolled condition to a final size of ˜0.2 μm.     

Principles of equal-channel angular pressing as a processing tool for grain refinement

During the last decade, equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) has emerged as a widely-known procedure for the fabrication of ultrafine-grained metals and alloys. This review examines recent developments related to the use of ECAP for grain refinement including modifying conventional ECAP to increase the process efficiency and techniques for up-scaling the procedure and for the processing of hard-to-deform materials. Special attention is given to the basic principles of ECAP processing including the strain imposed in ECAP, the slip systems and shearing patterns associated with ECAP and the major experimental factors that influence ECAP including the die geometry and pressing regimes. It is demonstrated that all of these fundamental and experimental parameters play an essential role in microstructural refinement during the pressing operation. Attention is directed to the significant features of the microstructures produced by ECAP in single crystals, polycrystalline materials with both a single phase and multi-phases, and metal-matrix composites. It is shown that the formation of ultrafine grains in metals and alloys underlies a very significant enhancement in their mechanical and functional properties. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated also that, in order to achieve advanced properties after processing by ECAP, it is necessary to control a wide range of microstructural parameters including the grain boundary misorientations, the crystallographic texture and the distributions of any second phases. Significant progress has been made in the development of ECAP in recent years, thereby suggesting there are excellent prospects for the future successful incorporation of the ECAP process into commercial manufacturing operations.     

Visco-plastic self-consistent modelling of a grain boundary misorientation distribution after equal-channel angular pressing in an AZ31 magnesium alloy

This study applies a visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) model to an AZ31 alloy processed by equal-channel angular pressing. The study focuses on the possibility of reproducing a grain misorientation distribution and the distribution of coincident site lattice boundaries in the model framework. Co-rotation and a magnesium misorientation scheme are employed together with the conventional VPSC model to improve its predictions. The results of the model are then compared with experimental data.     

Characteristics of face-centered cubic metals processed by equal-channel angular pressing

This review surveys the characteristics of face-centered cubic (fcc) metals and alloys processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP). The significance of the Hall–Petch relationship for ultra-fine grained structures is examined and the dependence of the saturated stress obtained in ECAP on the absolute melting temperature is described and discussed. In addition, the flow processes at low temperatures in ultrafine-grained materials and the microstructural evolution of the dislocation densities and precipitates in some alloys of practical importance are also considered briefly.     

Multicomponent materials from machining chips compacted by equal-channel angular pressing

Al and Mg machining chip blends were compacted by equal-channel angular pressing with back pressure. By varying the weight fraction of the constituent materials, temperature and processing route, as well as employing subsequent heat treatment, the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the compact were varied. The width of the interdiffusion zone and the formation of intermetallic phases near the interfaces between the two metals were studied by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and nanoindentation. It was shown that substantial improvement of mechanical properties, such as an increase of strength, strain-hardening capability and ductility, can be obtained. This is achieved by changing the processing parameters of equal-channel angular pressing and the annealing temperature, as well as by optimising the weight fraction of the constituent metals.     

Wear behavior of an aluminum alloy processed by equal-channel angular pressing

Wear tests were conducted on an aluminum Al-1050 alloy after processing by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP). The results show that the coefficient of friction remains unchanged after processing by ECAP, but there is a decrease in the wear resistance and a mass loss that increases with increasing numbers of ECAP passes. The results are consistent with a wear mechanism map and confirm the occurrence of a severe wear mechanism. The decreasing wear resistance after ECAP is attributed to the significant grain refinement introduced by ECAP and the lack of a strain hardening capability.     

Al-Cu合金析出相在等径角挤压中的演变

为了研究Al-Cu合金中两种不同析出相(θ′和θ相)在ECAP变形过程中的变化.采用透射电镜(TEM)和硬度测试方法研究了析出相形貌变化以及对合金性能的影响.结果表明:在本实验中,θ′和θ相其破碎、回溶速度明显不同,两者的破碎方式也不同.θ′相先是与基体失去取向关系,随后从其内部产生位错使其破碎,而θ相是被外部基体位错所切割、破碎.θ′相与位错的相互作用方式类似于绕过机制,θ相与位错的作用方式类似于切割机制.两种状态样品的硬度在变形过程中的变化趋势相同,但在第1道次后θ相状态样品的硬度增加值高于θ′相状态.     

Crack growth in ultrafine-grained AA6063 produced by equal-channel angular pressing

Crack growth behaviour of ultrafine-grained AA6063, processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) via route E at room temperature, was evaluated with special emphasis on the effect of grain size distribution and work hardening. A bimodal, two times ECAPed condition and a monomodal ultrafine-grained condition after eight ECAP passes are compared with the coarse grained peak aged material. Depending on their microstructure, the ECAPed materials show significantly lower fatigue threshold values (ΔK _th) and higher crack growth rates (da/dN) than their coarse grained counterparts. Micrographs of the crack propagation surfaces reveal the reduced grain size as major key to increased crack growth rates of the ECAPed material, as it influences roughness-induced crack closure and crack deflections. Furthermore, the effects of other features, such as ductility, work hardening capability and grain boundary characteristics, are discussed.     

High temperature thermal stability of ultrafine-grained silver processed by equal-channel angular pressing

The high temperature thermal stability of the ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructures in low stacking-fault-energy silver was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The UFG microstructures in two samples having purity levels of 99.995 and 99.99 at.% were achieved by four passes of equal-channel angular pressing at room temperature. The defect structure was studied by electron microscopy, X-ray line profile analysis, and positron annihilation spectroscopy before and after the exothermic DSC peak related to recovery and recrystallization. The heat released in the DSC peak was correlated to the change of defect structure during annealing. It was found for both compositions that a considerable fraction of stored energy (~15–20 %) was retained in the samples even after the DSC peak due to the remaining UFG regions and a large density of small dislocation loops in the recrystallized volumes. The larger impurity level in Ag yielded a higher temperature of recrystallization and a lower released heat. The latter observation is explained by the much lower vacancy concentration before the DSC peak which is attributed to the segregation of dopants at grain boundaries resulting in a smaller free volume in the interfaces.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ZA62 Mg alloy by equal-channel angular pressing

The Mg-6Zn-2Al alloy was processed by ECAP and microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy before and after ECAP were studied. The results revealed that the microstructure of the ZA62 alloy was successfully refined after two-step ECAP (2 passes at 473 K and 2-8 passes at 423 K). The course bulk interphase of Mg₅₁Zn₂₀ was crushed into fine particles and mixed with fine matrix grains forming “stripes” in the microstructure after the second step of ECAP extrusion. A bimodal microstructure of small grains of the matrix with size of ∼0.5 μm in the stripes and large grains of the matrix with size of ∼2 μm out of stripes was observed in the microstructure of samples after 4-8 passes of ECAP extrusion at the second step. The mechanical properties of the alloy studied were significantly improved after ECAP and the highest yield strength and elongation at room temperature were obtained at the samples after 4 and 8 ECAP passes at the second step, respectively. Tensile tests carried out at temperature of 473 K to 573 K and strain rate of 1 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ to 3 × 10⁻² s⁻¹ revealed that the alloy after 8 ECAP passes at the second step showed superplasticity and the highest elongation and strain rate sensitivity (m-value) reached 520% and 0.45, respectively.     

Cyclic softening of ultrafine-grained AZ31 magnesium alloy processed by equal-channel angular pressing

The low-cycle tension–compression fatigue tests were performed at ambient temperature on ultrafine grained AZ31 magnesium alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing. All samples exhibited cyclic softening, and the softening effect increased with increasing total strain amplitude. Observations by optical microscope revealed that pronounced recrystallization occurred, and the direction of larger axis of recrystallized grains was nearly 45° with respect to the loading axis. Local grain coarsening leads to the formation of dense shear localization, while line-like damage traces remain in fine grains. A model is proposed to account for the recrystallization, based on the characteristic distribution of defects introduced by equal channel angular pressing.     

Thermal stability of ultrafine grains size of pure copper obtained by equal-channel angular pressing

Ultrafine grain of pure copper 99.98% was produced by severe plastic deformation using the equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) method. Copper samples were ECAPed from 1 to 8 passes following route B_C; fine grain sizes of 250 nm were developed after eight passes. Important enhancement in the mechanical strength properties was obtained. Subsequent heat treatments (HT) were carried out to evaluate the thermal stability of the grains of the ECAPed samples. Microstructure and mechanical properties were evaluated to determine the recovery and recrystallization temperatures. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests were conducted to all samples in order to determinate these temperatures. The activation energy of the recrystallization process was also determined by the DSC technique and good correlation was obtained with the microstructure and mechanical properties. An important decrease in the mechanical properties and an increasing heterogeneous grain size distribution were observed when heat treatments were performed.     

Mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of ultrafine-grained AA6082 produced by equal-channel angular pressing

The mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of AA6082 with ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure were investigated. The material was processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) up to eight extrusions at room temperature in a 90°-die with active backpressure. Besides the peak-aged temper, which provides maximum strengths and strongly reduced ductility, the solution heat treated condition was considered as well. Combined with post-ECAP aging, an optimum of high strength, ductility and impact toughness was achieved. The corrosion investigations and the examination of the corrosion damage of the UFG-materials show higher pitting corrosion resistance compared to the unprocessed material. The optimised condition was used for the production of screw prototypes which showed appreciable higher strength and ductility compared to the identically manufactured screws from the CG counterpart. Such materials are potential candidates to be used for several engineering applications such as high strength screws even at higher temperatures.