Papers by Author: Saleh N. Alhajeri

Abstract: Al-2 wt. % Si alloys with and without 0.25 wt. % scandium additions were processed by high-pressure torsion up to five turns at room temperature under a pressure of 6.0 GPa. Microstructural examination of the as-cast Al-2Si-0.25Sc alloy revealed the presence of Al3Sc precipitates which refined the Al grain structure, whereas no major changes were observed in the morphology of the Si particles. Processing by HPT of both experimental alloys revealed submicrometer grains with uniformly distributed Si particles. The mechanical properties were obtained using hardness measurements and the ball-indentation technique. The results show the hardness increased in the first turn of HPT and further increased with increasing numbers of turns. In addition, the hardness values were lower at the centers and continuously increased towards the edges of the disks. The difference in hardness values between the centre and the edge decreased with increasing turns, thereby suggesting an increasing homogeneity with increasing processing. The scandium addition and HPT processing of the Al-2Si alloy strongly influences the grain refinement and mechanical properties. The grain size reduction in the Al-2Si alloy was similar to Al whereas the presence of Sc in Al-2Si during HPT processing was responsible for large precipitation networks and a submicrometer grain formation.

Abstract: Room temperature equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) was employed on commercial purity titanium in the present work. Mechanical twining was observed in ~90% grains while the grains were not significantly refined (~10 μm) after ECAP. TEM observations showed that the twins observed under OM are usually composed of a serial of parallel twin bands with a width of ~1 μm. Microhardness and tensile tests showed that such a coarse-grained microstructure combined with a high fraction of mechanical twins has a microhardness of ~ 240 Hv, yield strength of ~ 730 MPa, tensile strength of ~ 740 MPa and elongation to failure of ~ 16%. This yield strength is much higher than 620-640 MPa, the yield strength of ultrafine-grained titanium by 8~12 passes of ECAP at 450 oC with a grain size of 200-300 nm, and is close to ~ 790 MPa, the yield strength of commercial Ti-6Al-4V alloys.

Abstract: Disks of as-extruded Mg-4Nd alloy were processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) through ¼ to 5 turns at room temperature. The first 1/4 turn of HPT induces large numbers of twins and some dislocation tangles in the center region of the disk. With increase of torsional straining, the twinning is inhibited gradually and the dislocation density increases relating to the formation of dislocation substructures and ultimately transforming to high fractions of equiaxed gains which have an average grain size of ~200 nm and high-angle boundaries. HPT significantly improves the values of microhardness of this alloy. The hardness values in both the central and edge regions show a sharp rise after HPT for 1/4 turn and exhibit nearly saturation after 1/2 turn although there is a trend of a slight increase with increasing numbers of turns. The experimental results suggest more homogeneous microstructures may be produced by larger numbers of turns in the HPT process.

Abstract: Disks of a commercial purity aluminium Al-1050 alloy and Al-1%Mg alloy were processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature for up to a maximum of 5 turns under a pressure of 6 GPa. Following processing, hardness measurements were recorded across the surfaces of the disks. These measurements showed low values of hardness at the center and high values near the edges of the disks and the hardness increased in both alloys with increasing numbers of turns. The evolution of homogeneity in hardness was rapid in Al-1050 compared to the Al-1%Mg alloy. After 5 turns of HPT under a pressure of 6 GPa, the hardness was fully homogeneous across the total surface of the Al-1050 disk whereas there was a region of lower hardness around the center of the Al-1%Mg disk. The results reveal the significant difference between both alloys where the higher rate of recovery in the Al-1050 alloy leads to a rapid evolution of the hardness homogeneity.

Abstract: The effect of grain size on the deformation twinning and de-twinning in a nanocrystalline Ni-Fe alloy was investigated using transmission electron microscopy. Specimens with different grain sizes were obtained by severely deforming an electrochemically deposited nanocrystalline Ni-20wt.% Fe alloy using high-pressure torsion, which resulted in continuous grain growth from an average grain size of ~ 21 nm in the as-deposited material to ~ 72 nm for the highest strain applied in this study. Results show that deformation de-twinning occurs at very small grain sizes while deformation twinning takes place when the grain size is larger than ~ 45 nm. The mechanism of the observed grain size effect on twinning and de-twinning is briefly discussed.

Abstract: Billets of a commercial purity aluminium Al-1050 alloy were processed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) for up to a maximum of 6 passes. Following processing, the billets were sectioned and hardness measurements were recorded on both longitudinal and transverse sections. These measurements showed the hardness increases significantly in the first pass and continues to increase by small amounts in subsequent passes. Initially, there are regions of lower hardness running in bands near the top and bottom surface of each billet. The region of lower hardness near the upper surface disappears with increasing numbers of passes but near the bottom surface the lower hardness remains even after 6 passes. The results show that, neglecting the small region near the bottom of the billet, there is an excellent potential for achieving microstructural homogeneity within the Al-1050 alloy after pressing through a sufficient number of passes in ECAP.