Cryogenic equal channel angular pressing of commercially pure titanium: microstructure and properties

Cylindrical samples of CP Titanium (Grade 2) were deformed by one, two and three passes of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) each at temperatures 77, 300 and 575 K, respectively. The microstructure of samples processed at 77 K shows retardation of recrystallisation, high density of dislocations and deformation twins, diffuse and obscure grain boundaries compare to microstructure of samples processed at room and high temperature, where recrystallised ultrafine equiaxed grains are observed. Mechanical properties for all structural states of Ti were studied by microhardness measurements at 300 K and uniaxial compression at temperatures 300, 170, 77 and 4.2 K. Higher levels of ECAP deformation (more passes of ECAP) lead to higher values of strength and hardness at all studied temperatures. Decrease of ECAP temperature leads to increase of strength characteristics in all cases. Influence of ECAP and compression temperatures on possible changes of deformation mechanism are discussed.     

Microstructures and properties of ultrafine-grained pure titanium processed by equal-channel angular pressing and cold deformation

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) has been used to refine the grain size of commercially pure (CP) titanium as well as other metals and alloys. CP-Ti is usually processed at about 400 degrees C because it lacks sufficient ductility at lower temperature. The warm processing temperature limits the ability of the ECAP technique to improve the strength of CP-Ti. We have employed cold deformation following warm ECAP to further improve the strength of CP-Ti. Ti billets were first processed for eight passes via ECAP route Bc, with a clockwise rotation of 90 degrees between adjacent passes. The grain size obtained by ECAP alone is about 260 nm. The billets were further processed by cold deformation (cold rolling) to increase the crystalline defects such as dislocations. The strength of pure Ti was improved from 380 to around 1000 MPa by the two-step process. This article reports the microstructures, microhardness, tensile properties, and thermal stability of these Ti billets processed by a combination of ECAP and cold deformation.     

ECAP变形对Mg2Si增强耐热镁合金组织及性能的影响

为了提高镁合金的耐热性能,在Mg-Zn合金中加入Si,形成Mg-Zn-Si镁合金.采用ECAP工艺在变形温度为573 K和挤压路径为Bc条件下对Mg-Zn-Si镁合金进行不同道次的变形.运用金相显微镜(OM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)等手段对变形后的Mg-Zn-Si镁合金进行了组织表征,对变形后的合金进行了室温拉伸和高温蠕变等力学性能测试.结果表明:随着挤压道次增加,α-Mg基体、Mg Zn相及Mg2Si相均得到细化且分布趋于均匀.1道次挤压后部分基体α-Mg细化,4道次挤压后α-Mg的尺寸减小为5~10μm,且晶粒大小趋于均匀;2道次挤压后Mg2Si相枝晶在原位置破碎为颗粒状,6、8道次挤压后Mg_2Si相呈弥散分布.4道次挤压后合金的屈服强度和抗拉强度均提高120%,伸长率提高353%;8道次挤压后合金的抗拉强度和伸长率与4道次相比变化不大,但屈服强度进一步提高了19%.随着挤压道次增加,高温抗蠕变性能提高,8道次后高温稳态蠕变速率降低5倍.Mg2Si相细化机理为受剪切而机械碎断.     

A comparison of microstructures and mechanical properties in a Cu–Zr alloy processed using different SPD techniques

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the microstructures and mechanical properties of a Cu–0.1 % Zr alloy processed using two different techniques of severe plastic deformation: equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) and high-pressure torsion (HPT). The samples were processed at room temperature through ECAP for eight passes or through HPT for 10 turns. The results show HPT is more effective both in refining the grains and in producing a large fraction of grain boundaries having high angles of misorientation. Both procedures produce reasonably homogeneous hardness distributions but the average hardness values were higher after HPT. In tensile testing at 673 K, the highest strength and ductility was achieved after processing by HPT. This is attributed to the grain stability and high fraction of high-angle grain boundaries produced in HPT.     

Influence of Pressing Temperature on Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Behavior of Ultrafine‐Grained Cu Processed by Equal‐Channel Angular Pressing

Pure Cu was processed by ECAP at five different temperatures from room temperature (RT) to 523 K. The influence of pressing temperature on microstructure evolution and tensile behavior was investigated in detail. The results show that as the ECAP temperature is increased the grain size and ductility both increase whereas the dislocation density and yield strength decrease. In the case of ECAP processing in the range of RT to 473 K the mechanism governing microstructural refinement is continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX), whereas at 523 K the mechanism changes to discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX). At higher ECAP temperatures, the kinetics of CDRX are retarded leading to a lower fraction of equiaxed grains/high‐angle grain boundaries and a higher fraction of dislocation cell structures. At 523 K, DDRX induces a high fraction of equiaxed grains with a very low dislocation density which appears responsible for the observed high tensile ductility. The sample processed at 523 K possessed a good combination of strength and ductility, suggesting that processing by ECAP at elevated temperatures may be a suitable alternative to RT ECAP processing followed by subsequent annealing.     

135°ECAP+旋锻变形工业纯钛的热稳定性研究

对经过135°ECAP+旋锻变形后的工业纯钛100,150,200,250,300,350,400,450℃和500℃下保温1h退火。采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、拉伸试验机及显微硬度仪等技术研究ECAP+旋锻变形工业纯钛退火后的组织与性能变化。结果表明:在400℃以下退火时,显微组织中位错密度降低,晶界逐渐清晰,变形组织未发生明显变化,材料的抗拉强度和显微硬度略有降低,伸长率增加不明显;在400℃以上退火时,随着退火温度的升高,发生再结晶,晶粒尺寸明显增大,平均晶粒尺寸约为5μm,材料的抗拉强度和显微硬度均出现明显降低,伸长率增加。拉伸断口表明,ECAP+旋锻变形退火后工业纯钛的拉伸断裂均为韧性断裂。随着退火温度的升高,韧窝尺寸变大,韧窝深度变深。     

Ultrafine-grained Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloy produced by ECAP at room temperature

To ascertain the influence of severe plastic deformation (SPD) on a Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr (TNTZ) alloy, we studied the room temperature mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of an ultrafine-grained (UFG) Ti–36Nb–2Ta–3Zr (wt%) alloy prepared via equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) of the as-hot-extruded alloy. The tensile behavior, phase composition, grain size, preferred orientation, and dislocation density of the UFG alloy, processed under different conditions, were analyzed and discussed. Compared to the as-hot-extruded alloy, the ECAP-processed TNTZ alloy (3 passes) exhibited approximately 40 and 88 % increase in average ultimate strength and yield strength, respectively. Moreover, as the number of ECAP passes increased from 3 to 6, the TNTZ alloy exhibited not only the expected increase in ultimate and yield strength values, but also a slight increase in elongation. Our results suggest that the deformation mechanisms that govern the behavior of the as-hot-extruded coarse grained (CG) TNTZ alloy during ECAP involve a combination of stress-induced martensitic transformation and dislocation activity. In the case of the ECAP-processed UFG TNTZ alloy, the deformation mechanism is proposed to involve two components: first, dislocation activity induced by the strain field imposed during ECAP; and second, the formation of α″ martensite phase during the early stages of ECAP which eventually transforms into β phase during continued deformation. We propose that the deformation mechanism governing the room temperature behavior of the TNTZ alloy strongly depends on the grain size of the β phase.     

Microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of industrial Cu-0.5%Cr alloy processed by severe plastic deformation

Microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of industrial Cu-0.5% alloy subjected to equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) by route A and cold rolling with and without aging treatment were investigated. The lamellar grains in thickness of 100 nm were obtained after eight ECAP passes. They were not further pancake shaped, but fragmentary and obtained less sharp boundaries with more dislocations in addition to cold rolling. After aging at 450 °C for 1 h, high density of dislocations and some coarse grains were observable after ECAP and the additional cold rolling, respectively. The tensile tests show that tensile strength arrived at 460 MPa and 484 MPa after four and eight passes of ECAP, respectively, the corresponding tensile strength increased to 570 MPa and 579 MPa after the additional cold rolling. However, the electrical conductivity was not more than 35% IACS. It was proved that four passes of ECAP followed by 90% cold rolling and aging at 450 °C for 1 h offered a short process for Cu-0.5%Cr alloy to balance the paradox of high strength and electrical conductivity, under which the tensile strength 554 MPa, elongation to failure 22% and electrical conductivity 84% of IACS could be obtained. The high strength was explained by precipitation strengthening and fine grain strengthening.     

Thermophysical Properties of Aluminum 1060 Fabricated by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) has the advantage of enabling an ultrafine grain size. Aluminum 1060 is used as a power plant material because of its favorable electrical properties. However, the weak strength of aluminum limits its application. In this study, the thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity of Al 1060 made by ECAP was investigated. ECAP was conducted through the die having a channel angle of 90° and a corner angle of 20° at a temperature of 473 K with a strain rate of 2 mm · s⁻¹. The specimen was then processed with 1 to 8 passes by the route Bc method with 90° rotation. In the case of eight passes, the grain size was reduced to as small as 300 nm. As a result of the ECAP, the tensile strength was raised from 75 MPa to 134 MPa, while the electrical conductivity did not show a significant difference after eight passes. The thermal conductivity gradually decreased with ECAP passes, because of the decreased grain size by ECAP.     

Ultra-fine grained bulk CP-Ti processed by multi-pass ECAP at warm deformation region

In order to refine the grain size of commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti) to a submicrometer scale, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was attempted at a temperature range of 200–300 °C. The experiments revealed that, 250 °C was the minimum temperature at which ten passes of ECAP could be performed in a 105° die without the cracking of billets. An ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure with a mean grain size of 183 nm was achieved after 10 passes. The processed CP-Ti displayed high tensile strength of 892 MPa and high elongation to failure of 20.5%. The enhancement in mechanical properties is explained in terms of grain refinement and dislocation density increasing. The high ductility of UFG pure Ti with the absence of strain hardening behavior is attributed to its enhanced strain rate sensitivity.     

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.     

Significantly enhanced tensile strength and ductility in nickel aluminium bronze by equal channel angular pressing and subsequent heat treatment

Nickel aluminium bronze (NAB) was subjected to equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 400 °C for up to 4 passes in routes B_A and C, respectively, followed by isothermal heat treatment with a view to improving the κ phase structures and tensile properties. The lamellar κ_III structure was completely broken after 4 passes in route B_A although route C was less efficient. Spheroidisation and coarsening of the highly deformed κ_III continued during heat treatment especially at ≥600 °C. At 800 °C, both the lamellar structure and the fine κ_IV particles transformed completely into a coarse globular morphology with no distinction between the primary and eutectoid α. Significant increases in strength were achieved by ECAP, reaching a maximum yield strength of 960 MPa with a good ductility of ~14 %. Heat treatment after ECAP was shown to considerably improve tensile ductility to >30 % while keeping the strength high at ~700 MPa, a significant enhancement compared to the as-received NAB.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ultrafine grain ZK60 alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing

The microstructure evolution and tensile properties of ZK60 magnesium alloy after equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) have been investigated. The results show that the two-step ECAP process is more effective in grain refinement than the single-step ECAP process due to the lower deformation temperature, a mean grain size of ~0.8 μm was obtained after two-step ECAP process at 513 K for four passes and 453 K for four passes. The EBSD examination reveals that ZK60 alloy after two-step ECAP process exhibits a more homogeneous grain size and misorientation distribution than single-step ECAP process. Both alloys after ECAP process present similar strong {0002} texture. The tensile strength of two-step ECAP alloy has also been improved compared with the single-step ECAP alloy. The strengthening effect was mainly ascribed to grain refinement.     

Stored energy and recrystallization temperature in high purity copper after equal channel angular pressing

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was conducted at room temperature to impose high strain into high purity copper. Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) was used to estimate the stored energy from ECAP and recrystallization temperature. It was found that the stored energy increases upon ECAP processing until a peak is reached at 12 passes of ECAP, and a slight decrease in stored energy was observed at higher ECAP passes. The recrystallization temperature decreases upon the increase of the stored energy up to ~50 J/mol, and reaches a stable valve of ~210 °C. Partial annealing of an ECAP processed (8 passes) sample by heating to ~185 °C at a heating rate of 20 °C/min released the stored energy from ~55 to ~18 J/mol, without substantial change on the recrystallization temperature of the sample. A two parameters model was used to help calculate stored energy of ultrafine-grained copper after high strain level processing.     

超细晶铜力学和阻尼性能及微观结构研究

在众多阻尼材料中,金属阻尼材料既能满足高阻尼减振降噪性能,又具有较高的强度,是理想的阻尼材料.为了提高商业纯铜的力学性能,分析晶粒细化程度对纯铜力学性能和阻尼性能的影响,在室温下对商业纯铜棒进行12道次BC路径等通道转角挤压(ECAP)实验.对挤压后样品进行单轴微拉伸试验和高循环拉伸疲劳试验研究其力学性能;通过动态力学...     

Effect of Deformation Temperature on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AZ31 Mg Alloy Processed by Differential-Speed Rolling

A differential-speed rolling(DSR) was applied to AZ31 magnesium alloy sample at different rolling temperatures of 473,523,573,and 623 K with 1-pass and 2-pass operations.The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the deformed samples were investigated.The rolling temperature was found to be an important parameter affecting the microstructural development.After DSR at 473 K,the microstructure was more homogeneous than that obtained after deformation by equal-speed rolling(ESR).The fully recrystallized microstructures were generated after DSR at 573 and 623 K.As to mechanical properties,the yield strength(YS) and ultimate tensile strength(UTS) decreased monotonously with increasing rolling temperature.In contrast,the elongation of the DSR-deformed samples was improved as the rolling temperature increased.The strain hardening exponent(n) calculated by Hollomon equation increased with increasing the rolling temperature,which would explain an increase in the uniform elongation.     

室温ECAP和冷轧复合变形工业纯钛的组织和性能

采用ECAP技术和常规冷轧复合变形工艺制备了高强度工业纯钛,研究了复合变形后试样的力学性能与显微组织的关系.结果表明,工业纯钛经室温单道次ECAP和冷轧复合变形后,晶粒被严重拉长,形成了明显的纤维状组织,试样的抗拉强度高达805MPa;随着冷轧变形量的增大,变形组织的细化程度和均匀性提高,使试样的强度和塑性进一步提高.位错滑移和孪生是工业纯钛室温ECAP和冷轧复合变形的主要变形机制.     

Dynamic compressive behavior of ultrafine-grained pure Ti at elevated temperatures after processing by ECAP

Commercial purity titanium was processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) for 8 passes and then subjected to dynamic compressive testing using a split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) facility with an imposed strain rate of ~4000 s^?1 and testing temperatures from 288 to 673 K. The results show that ECAP produces an average grain size of ~0.3 μm in transverse sections, but grains which are elongated in longitudinal sections. During dynamic compressive testing at temperatures ranging from 288 to 473 K, the grain shapes and sizes remain unchanged in the transverse sections, but the elongated shapes in the longitudinal sections evolve into polygons due to cell dislocation evolution. At 673 K, the grains become equiaxed with an average size of ~1.8 μm thereby demonstrating the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization. It is shown that the flow stresses decrease with increasing temperature from 288 to 673 K, and there is also a reduction in the rate of strain hardening.     

Tensile properties and constitutive model of ultrathin pure titanium foils at elevated temperatures in microforming assisted by resistance heating method

Pure titanium (Ti) is often used for microparts in biomedical devices and implants. Microforming is a promising technology for the manufacture of microparts. Owing to the occurrence of size effects in microforming, the material flow is nonhomogeneous and the process parameters exhibit considerable scattering. Heat-assisted microforming is an effective process for solving these problems. To improve the heating rate, the resistance heating method has been introduced into the microforming process. To design an effective resistance-heating-assisted microforming process, the relationship between the electric current and the flow stress of the material should be determined.To achieve this, a tensile testing system incorporating the resistance heating method is developed in this study. The tensile properties of 0.05-mm-thick pure Ti foils are investigated by performing uniaxial tensile tests at elevated temperatures. The tensile tests are carried out at different angles (0°, 45°, and 90°) relative to the rolling direction, at various temperatures from room temperature (298 K) to 723 K, and under different strain rates from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻¹ s⁻¹. To contribute to the design of the resistance-heating-assisted microforming process, the effect of the temperature and electrical current density on the material properties of ultrathin pure Ti foils is discussed. A constitutive model based on the Fields–Bachofen (FB) equation is derived to describe the flow stress of ultrathin pure Ti under different forming conditions. The effect of the electrical current density on the work hardening and strain rate sensitivity is included in the derived constitutive model. The good agreement between the calculated and experimental results confirms the feasibility of the proposed constitutive model for resistance-heating-assisted microforming.     

Mechanical behaviour and texture of annealed AZ31 Mg alloy deformed by ECAP

Abstract

AZ31 Mg alloy samples were processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 220°C for four passes. An average grain size of ～1·9 μm with reasonable homogeneity was obtained. The ECAP process imparted large plastic shear strains and strong deformation textures to the material. Subsequent annealing of the equal channel angular pressed samples produced interesting mechanical behaviours. While yield strength increased and ductility decreased immediately after undergoing ECAP, annealing at temperatures <250°C restored ductility significantly at a small decrease in of yield strength. Annealing at temperatures >250°C reduced yield strength without additional improvement in ductility. It is believed that the combination of stress relief via dislocation elimination, refined microstructure and the retention of a strong ECAP texture at low annealing temperatures enhance ductility. High temperature annealing breaks down the ECAP texture resulting in no further improvement in ductility. The results show that the mechanical properties of the alloy can be positively influenced by annealing after ECAP to achieve a combination of strength and ductility.