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.