Papers by Author: N.I. Nikitina

Abstract: Severe plastic deformation of a Mg-Al-Ca alloy resulted in different types of grain structure. High pressure torsion (HPT) was shown to lead to the formation of a nanocrystalline structure with a grain size of 100-200 nm, while equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) produced ultrafine grained (UFG) or submicrocrystalline (SMC) structures, depending on the ECAP temperature. An UFG structure with a grain size of 2-5 -m was formed at 300°C, as distinct from a finer SMC structure with a grain size of 300-800 nm formed at a lower temperature (220°C). The possibility of increasing the strength of the alloy in the UFG condition by a factor of 1.5-2, combined with a reasonable level of ductility and enhanced functional properties was thus demonstrated. ECAP of annealed Mg-Al-Ca with the formation of UFG structure was shown to lead to increased yield strength (by a factor of 2) and enhanced tensile ductility (by a factor of 3).

Abstract: In this work severe plastic deformation (SPD) was applied to magnesium base alloys of the Mg-Sm system (2.8-5.5 mass %Sm). These alloys are characterized by high strength at elevated temperatures and high strengthening effect during aging. SPD was performed by torsion under pressure of 4 GPa at 20 and 200°C to ε ∼ 6. SPD results in significant strengthening of the Mg-Sm alloys due to the formation of submicrocrystalline structure. In all cases SPD accelerates the solid solution decomposition upon subsequent aging. The highest strengthening can be obtained if the solution treated alloy is aged at 200°C after SPD at room temperature. The state of high strength can be also reached if the following sequence of the operations is used: solution treatment + aging at 200 °C up to maximum hardness + SPD at 20°C + aging at 200°C accompanied by Sm –rich phase precipitation in the submicrocrystalline matrix.