Microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu and Cu-Zn alloys produced by equal channel angular pressing

Ultrafine-grained (UFG) Cu and Cu-Zn alloy were prepared using equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) to investigate the effects of stacking fault energy (SFE) on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties. Combining with the previous researches, the grain refinement process of ECAP is divided into three stages based on the variation of tensile strength and plasticity. According to the influences of defects on strength and ductility during plastic deformation, the three stages are discussed in detail by considering the dislocation density, grain and twin boundaries. Besides, the impact of SFE on the strength and ductility of the UFG Cu-Zn alloys are evaluated, indicating that these two mechanical properties can be improved simultaneously in the whole ECAP process either through slightly or widely adjusting the SFE. This significant effect of SFE reflects in two aspects, one is in the microstructure evolution during ECAP processing and the other is in the subsequent tensile plastic deformation, both of which can be achieved through regulating the dislocation motion via changing the SFE.     

Effect of strain on “hardening by annealing and softening by deformation” phenomena in ultra-fine grained aluminum

Ultra-fine grained (UFG) metals fabricated by severe plastic deformation (SPD) sometimes exhibit peculiar mechanical properties. For example, the “hardening by annealing and softening by deformation” was reported in UFG aluminum, which was totally opposite to the behaviors of conventionally coarse-grained materials. In this study, the effect of SPD strain on the peculiar phenomena was investigated. The UFG aluminum was fabricated by various cycles of the accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) process with lubrication at ambient temperature. The specimen ARB-processed by ten cycles certainly showed the peculiar phenomena. On the other hand, the 6-cycle specimen did not show the phenomena but was softened by annealing and hardened by deformation normally. From the results of microstructural characterization, it was suggested that the difference in the change of the mechanical property during annealing and deformation between 6-cycle and 10-cycle specimens was caused by the difference in the grain size and/or the texture components, which depended on the SPD strain.     

Tailoring materials properties of UFG aluminium alloys by accumulative roll bonded sandwich-like sheets

Accumulative roll bonding (ARB) as a method of severe plastic deformation is a well-established process to produce ultrafine-grained (UFG) sheet materials with extraordinary mechanical properties. In this work ARB is applied to combine different sheet materials in order to tailor the materials properties by producing sandwich-like structures. The high strength aluminium alloy AA5754, after 4 ARB cycles (N4), is used as a core material. To achieve high corrosion resistance and good visual properties, it is cladded with commercially pure aluminium AA1050A (N4) at room temperature and alternatively with AA6014 (N4) at 230 °C. All materials are UFG and satisfactory bonding between the different layers of aluminium alloys is achieved. Nanoindentation measurements reveal that there is a sharp transition in hardness at the interface. The yield and tensile strength of the core material are fully retained in the case of the AA6014/AA5754 sandwich. The strength of the AA1050A/AA5754 sandwich is slightly lower compared to the core material but still twice as high as the clad material. The serrated yielding effect which is strongly visible in tensile tests on the pure AA5754 alloy completely disappears in the sandwich sheets, which means the surface quality is strongly enhanced.     

Effect of initial grain size on the joint properties of friction stir welded aluminum

In this study, 2 mm-thick commercial 1050-Al plates with an ultrafine grained (UFG) structure were obtained by the accumulative roll bonding (ARB) technique after a 5 cycle process and were subsequently joined by friction stir welding (FSW) at various revolution pitches (welding speed/rotation speed) of 1 mm/r, 1.67 mm/r and 2.5 mm/r. To understand the effect of the initial grain size on the welding properties, ARB processed samples followed by annealing under H24 conditions as well as the as-received samples in the fully annealed state were also applied to the FSW process. The microstructure evolution and Vickers hardness in the stir zone of all the samples were investigated. It was revealed that the annealed samples with an intermediate grain size finally obtained the most refined grain size and highest value of Vickers hardness in the stir zone. However, for the UFG samples, significant grain growth and corresponding decrease in hardness can be found in the stir zone.     

Unique mechanical properties of nanostructured metals

Recently, it becomes possible to fabricate bulk metals having ultrafine grained or nanocrystalline structures of which grain size is in nano-meter dimensions. One of the promising ways to realize bulk nanostructured metals is severe plastic deformation (SPD) above logarithmic equivalent strain of 4. We have developed an original SPD process, named Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB) using rolling deformation in principle, and have succeeded in fabricating bulk nanostructured sheets of various kinds of metals and alloys. The ARB process and the nanostructured metals fabricated by the ARB are introduced in this paper. The nanostructured metals sometimes perform quite unique mechanical properties, that is rather surprising compared with conventionally coarse grained materials. The unique properties seem to be attributed to the characteristic structures of the nano-metals full of grain boundaries.     

Machining of coarse grained and ultra fine grained titanium

Machining of titanium is quite difficult and expensive. Heat generated in the process of cutting does not dissipate quickly, which affects tool life. In the last decade ultra fine grained (UFG) titanium has emerged as an option for substitution for more expensive titanium alloys. Extreme grain refinement can be readily performed by severe plastic deformation techniques. Grain refinement of a material achieved in this way was shown to change its mechanical and physical properties. In the present study, the microstructure evolution and the shear band formation in chips of coarse grained and UFG titanium machined to three different depths and three different feeding rates was investigated. A change in thermal characteristics of commercial purity Ti with grain refinement was studied by comparing heating/cooling measurements with an analytical solution of the heat transfer boundary problem. It was demonstrated that an improvement in the machinability can be expected for UFG titanium.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-5Li-1Al sheets prepared by accumulative roll bonding

Ultrafine-grain and high-strength Mg-5Li-1Al sheets were prepared by accumulative roll bonding (ARB) process. Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of ARB-processed Mg-5Li-1Al sheets was investigated.Results show that, during ARB process, the evolution of deformation mechanism of t Mg-5Li-1Al alloy is as follows: twinning deformation, shear deformation, forming macro shear zone, and finally dynamic recrystallization (DRX). The grain refining mechanism changes from twin DRX to rotation DRX. With the increase in ARB cycles, strength of the Mg-5Li-1Al sheets is enhanced, whilst elongation varies slightly. With the increase in rolling cycles, anisotropy of mechanical properties decreases. It is conclusive that strain hardening and grain refinement dominate the strengthening mechanism of Mg-5Li-1Al alloy.     

Effect of ultragrain refinement on quenching and partitioning steels manufactured by a novel method

In this study, ultrafine grained (UFG) quenching and partitioning steels was achieved by using tempered and deformed martensite as the pre-microstructure of the quenching and partitioning treatment. Compared with those manufactured through the conventional routine, superior mechanical properties were realized in UFG steels by using tempered and deformed martensite as the pre-microstructure of the quenching and partitioning treatment. The grain subdivision mechanism during deformation and the microstructure evolution during heating were investigated. Effect of carbide on the grain subdivision and its pinning effect against grain growth is highlighted. The proposed method produced UFG steels with considerable amount of retained austenite, which contributed to the enhanced mechanical properties of investigated steels.     

Influence of two-step ball-milling condition on electrical and mechanical properties of TiC-dispersion-strengthened Cu alloys

TiC-dispersion-strengthened Cu alloys were prepared by a two-step ball-milling (BM) process followed by sparks plasma sintering (SPS), heat treatment and hot rolling in sequence. The two-step BM process is composed of a pre-ball-milling (pre-BM) on both Ti and graphite powders as well as a subsequent homogenizing by BM together with Cu powder. Microstructure evolution analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of BM conditions on the electrical and mechanical properties of Cu-based alloys. The X-ray results revealed that titanium carbide (TiC) formed from Ti and C under high impact energy BM. Moreover, the formation of TiC during the SPS and heat treatment processes was found to more beneficial in enhancing the mechanical properties of alloy. The residual Ti in Cu matrix was found to be the predominant factor lowering the electrical conductivity of Cu–Ti–C alloys.     

Impurity Effect on Wear Resistance of Ultrafine-Grained Copper

The wear properties of ultrafine-grained(UFG) Cu samples of different purities were investigated in comparison with the coarse-grained(CG) Cu.The UFG Cu samples,prepared by means of plastic deformation via quasistatic compression,exhibit an enhanced wear resistance relative to the CG Cu samples.For both the UFG and the CG Cu samples,wear volumes increase at higher purities.A steady state worn subsurface structure was formed in each sample after sliding for 60 min,consisting of a heavily deformed nanostructured mixing layer(NML) on top of a continuous dynamic recrystallization(DRX) layer.A pronounced correlation is identified that wear volume increases monotonically with an increasing grain size of the DRX layer.The impurity level of the Cu samples has an obvious influence on the DRX grain sizes,which in turn determines the wear resistance of the Cu samples.     

Effect of high-pressure torsion processing on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of consolidated micro size Cu and Cu-SiC powders

In this paper, micro size Cu and Cu-SiC composites powders were consolidated by powder metallurgy (PM) followed by sintering or high-pressure torsion (HPT) to study the effect of the different processing methods on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties. HPT contributes in producing fully dense samples with a relative density higher than those processed by PM followed by sintering. Bimodal and trimodal microstructures with a mixture of ultrafine grain (UFG) and micro or nano grain sizes were noted in the case of Cu and Cu-SiC HPTed samples, respectively. The increase of the SiC volume fraction (SiC%) produces smaller grain size with higher fractions of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) in the HPTed Cu-SiC samples than that in the case of HPTed Cu sample. The HPT under a pressure of 10 GPa and 15 revolutions was effective to achieve a complete fragmentation of SiC particles down to ultrafine particle size. HPT processing of Cu and Cu-SiC composites enhanced the mechanical properties (hardness and tensile strength) with conserving a reasonable degree of ductility (elongation%). The yield strength of the samples was estimated based on the microstructure observations and processing parameters by different models correctly with an error range of 5.1–1% from the experiential results.     

Tribological properties of ultrafine-grained materials processed by severe plastic deformation

Processing by severe plastic deformation (SPD) has been developed extensively over the last two decades in order to produce ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials having submicrometre or nanometre grain sizes. An important material property for UFG materials is good wear resistance so that they may be used in a range of structural applications. An examination of the published data shows that only limited reports are available to date on the wear behaviour of SPD-processed materials and, furthermore, many of these results appear to be conflicting. The correlation of hardness and wear is limited because the wear property is a system property that in practice is influenced by a range of factors. Accordingly, this review is designed to examine recent reports related to the wear resistance of materials processed by SPD with particular emphasis on alloys processed using equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP), high-pressure torsion (HPT) and accumulative roll-bonding (ARB).     

Accumulative roll bonding of aluminum alloys 2219/5086 laminates: Microstructural evolution and tensile properties

The present study describes the course of microstructure evolution during accumulative roll bonding (ARB) of dissimilar aluminum alloys AA2219 and AA5086. The two alloys were sandwiched as alternate layers and rolled at 300 °C up to 8 passes with 50% height reduction per pass. A strong bonding between successive layers accompanied by substantial grain refinement (∼200–300 nm) is achieved after 8 passes of ARB. The processing schedule has successfully maintained the iso-strain condition up to 6 cycles between the two alloys. Afterwards, the fracture and fragmentation of AA5086 layers dominate the microstructure evolution. Mechanical properties of the 8 pas ARB processed material were evaluated in comparison to the two starting alloy sheets via room temperature tensile tests along the rolling direction. The strength of the 8 pass ARB processed material lies between that of the two starting alloys while the ductility decreases after ARB than that of the two constituent starting alloys. These differences in mechanical behavior have been attributed to the microstructural aspects of the individual layer and the fragmentation process.     

Mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel with high niobium contents

To better understand the influence of the microstructural characteristics on the mechanical properties of Fe-Cr₂₂-Ni₂₅-Nb_x austenitic stainless steel (ASS-Nb_x), the mechanical properties were investigated. Nb addition was conducted with four different amounts: 0, 0.29, 0.58 and 0.86%. With the increasing Nb content, the mean grain size for the Fe-Cr-Ni-based alloys decreased, while the size of Nb precipitate increased. Owing to the different microstructural characteristics, their mechanical properties were altered. The highest tensile strength was obtained for ASS-Nb_0.29 alloy. However, with the increasing Nb content in ASS-Nb_0.29–0.86 alloys, the tensile strength decreases despite the grain refinement. The mechanical properties of the ASS-Nb alloys were influenced by the Nb precipitation hardening and the grain boundary cohesive strength, arising from the size of Nb precipitations.     

Nanostructured bulk copper fabricated by accumulative roll bonding

In this study, we tried to fabricate the nanostructured bulk copper alloys by a severe plastic deformation process. The sheets of copper alloys (OFC, PMC90, and DLP) were heavily deformed to an equivalent strain of 6.4 by the accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) process. The microstructure and the mechanical property of the fabricated specimens were systematically investigated. The microstructure was finely subdivided with increasing the equivalent strain by the ARB process. The severely deformed copper alloys exhibited the ultrafine lamellar boundary structure where the mean lamella spacing was about 200 nm. The strength significantly increased with decreasing the lamella spacing in the ARB processed copper alloys. Especially, the tensile strength of the DLP alloys ARB processed by 8 cycles (the equivalent strain of 6.4) reached to 520 MPa, which was about three times higher than that of same materials with conventional grain size of 10-100 microm. On the other hand, the total elongation greatly dropped only by 1 ARB cycle corresponding to an equivalent strain of 0.8, which was around 3%. However, the total elongation increased again with increasing the number of the ARB cycle, and it reached to 10% after 8 cycles. The recovery of the total elongation could be recognized in all studied copper alloys. The obtained stress-strain curves showed that the improvement of the total elongation was caused by the increase in the post-uniform elongation. It can be concluded that the nanostructured copper alloys sheets having high strength without a large loss of ductility could be fabricated by the ARB process.     

Recrystallization and Grain Growth in Ultrafine‐Grained Materials Produced by High Pressure Torsion

Ultrafine‐grained (UFG) materials processed by severe plastic deformation are known to exhibit good mechanical properties. Much about the annealing behavior of such materials is still unknown, and this work aims to provide a better understanding of the thermal properties of UFG materials. For this purpose a Cu–0.17 wt%Zr alloy was subjected to high pressure torsion (HPT) with a maximal pressure of 4.8 GPa at room temperature. The microstructures of the specimens were characterized using electron back scatter (EBSD) measurements, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and hardness measurements. During annealing of the samples, dispersoids were formed which improved the thermal stability of the alloy. At higher strain levels the fraction of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) increased above 70% of the total grain boundaries.     

轧制温度和累积应变对累积叠轧焊AZ31镁合金板材组织和性能的影响

通过光学显微镜（OM）、扫描电镜（SEM）和力学性能检测,研究了AZ31镁合金在不同温度和累积应变条件下累积叠轧后的微观组织和力学性能。结果表明：晶粒尺寸随累积叠轧温度降低和累积应变增加而减小;经过3道次的ARB变形后,晶粒细化不再显著,但是组织均匀性得到改善。300℃以上的ARB变形对AZ31板材的强度和延性均有一定...     

Tailoring nanostructured, graded, and particle-reinforced Al laminates by accumulative roll bonding

Accumulative roll bonding (ARB) is a very attractive process for processing large sheets to achieve ultrafine-grained microstructure and high strength. Commercial purity Al and many Al alloys from the 5xxx and the precipitation strengthened 6xxx alloy series have been successfully processed by the ARB process into an ultrafine-grained state and superior ductility have been achieved for some materials like technical purity Al. It has also been shown that the ARB process can be successfully used to produce multi-component materials with tailored properties by reinforcement or grading, respectively. This allows optimizing the properties based on two or more materials/alloys. For example, to achieve high corrosion resistance and good visual surface properties it is interesting to produce a composite of two different Al alloys, where for example a high strength alloy of the 5xxx series is used as the core material and a 6xxx series alloy as the clad material. It has been shown that such a composite achieves more or less the same strength as the core material although 50% of the composite consists of the significant softer clad alloy. Furthermore, it has been found, that the serrated yielding which typically appears in 5xxx series alloys and limits applications as outer skin materials completely disappears. Moreover, the ARB process allows many other attractive ways to design new composites and graded material structures with unique properties by the introduction of particles, fibres and sheets. Strengthening with nanoparticles for example is a very attractive way to improve the properties and accelerate the grain refining used in the severe plastic deformation process. With an addition of only 0.1 vol.-% Al2O3 nanoparticles a significantly accelerated grain refinement has been found which reduces the number of ARB passes necessary to achieve the maximum in strength. The paper provides a short review on recent developments in the field of ARB processing for producing multicomponent ultrafine-grained sheet materials with tailored properties.     

Nanoscale deformation of multiaxially forged ultrafine-grained Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloy with high strength-high ductility combination and comparison with the coarse-grained counterpart

Cold processing of magnesium(Mg) alloys is a challenge because Mg has a hexagonal close-packed(HCP)lattice with limited slip systems, which makes it difficult to plastically deform at low temperature. To address this challenge, a combination of annealing of as-cast alloy and multi-axial forging was adopted to obtain isotropic ultrafine-grained(UFG) structure in a lean Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloy with high strength(yield strength: ~227 MPa)-high ductility(% elongation: ~30%) combination. This combination of strength and ductility is excellent for the lean alloy, enabling an understanding of deformation processes in a formable high strength Mg-rare earth alloy. The nanoscale deformation behavior was studied via nanoindentation and electron microscopy, and the behavior was compared with its low strength(yield strength: ~46 MPa)-low ductility(% elongation: ~7%) coarse-grained(CG) counterpart. In the UFG alloy, extensive dislocation slip was an active deformation mechanism, while in the CG alloy, mechanical twinning occurred.The differences in the deformation mechanisms of UFG and CG alloys were reflected in the discrete burst in the load-displacement plots. The deformation of Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloys was significantly influenced by the grain structure, such that there was change in the deformation mechanism from dislocation slip(non-basal slip) to nanoscale twins in the CG structure. The high plasticity of UFG Mg alloy involved high dislocation activity and change in activation volume.     

Enhancing tensile properties of ultrafine-grained medium-carbon steel utilizing fine carbides

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the influence of nano-sized carbides upon tensile behavior in UFG medium-carbon steels and to develop a material with improved tensile properties. UFG medium-carbon steels with fine carbides were successfully fabricated by multi-pass caliber rolling at 773 K. Alloying chromium and molybdenum resulted in thinner pearlitic lamellae, which were transformed into finer particles after severe plastic deformation. The UFG steel containing the alloying elements exhibited superior tensile properties, which was attributed to the enhanced strain hardening rate by the imbedded finer particles. Subsequent annealing induced growth of grains and particles, which also recovered elongation at the expense of strength. All UFG steels investigated here showed a yield-point phenomenon due to the decreased hardening rate and lack of mobile dislocations and their sources. The deteriorating effect of particle growth overwhelmed the improving effect of grain growth after annealing of the UFG medium-carbon steel, leading to a reduced strain hardening rate. This resulted in a positive correlation between a grain size and Lüders elongation in the investigated UFG steels.