Materials Science Forum Vols. 584-586

Abstract: Bulk nanostructured Cu samples with 20 mm in diameter and 1 mm in height were processed by HPT at a pressure of 6 GPa by 10 rotations. Measurements of texture by means of state-of-the-art XRD technique have been achieved in directions parallel and normal to the torsion axis. Local texture measurements were performed by a spot size of 500 -m in steps of 3.5 mm in order to examine the homogeneity of deformation. The texture data were resolved to shear plane and analyzed in terms of ideal shear orientations. At both inner and outer areas of the disc plane typical shear textures are observed. However, the intensity of components of textures at inner areas is higher than that of outer one. These results can be interpreted in terms of dynamic lattice relaxations rather than by heterogeneities in deformation.

Abstract: Texture and microstructure formation during equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) of Mg-0.49%Al-0.47%Ca alloy were studied. The selected ECAP condition (route BC, N=6 passes, true strain ε ≈ 6.8, T=300°C) ensures an ultrafine-grained structure of the alloy and basal texture, inclined at an angle of 45-55º relative to the direction of extrusion. The expectation that such a change of the texture, together with the refinement of microstructure, should improve the low temperature ductility of this material was confirmed by tensile testing.

Abstract: The radiotracer technique was applied for measuring grain boundary diffusion of Ni in ultrafine grained (UFG) copper materials with different nominal purities and in a Cu—1wt.%Pb alloy. The UFG specimens were prepared by equal channel angular pressing at room temperature. The stability of the microstructure was studied by focused ion beam imaging. Grain boundary diffusion of the 63Ni radioisotope was investigated in the temperature interval from 293 to 490K under the formal Harrison type C kinetic conditions. Two distinct short-circuit diffusion paths were observed. The first (relatively slow) path in the UFG materials corresponds unambiguously to relaxed high-angle grain boundaries with diffusivities which are quite similar to those in the respective coarse-grained reference materials. The second path is characterized by significantly higher diffusivities. The experimental data are discussed to elucidate the contribution of nonequilibrium grain boundaries in the deformed materials. Alternative contributions of other shortcircuit diffusion paths cannot be ruled out, particularly for the Cu-Pd alloy.

Abstract: This paper describes the influence of initial crystallographic orientation on the formation of dense shear bands in pure copper single crystals subjected to equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) for one pass at room temperature. Local orientation change during simple shear by ECAP traced by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) indicated that the shear bands were formed when twinning plane and direction become parallel to the macroscopic shear plane and shear direction of simple shear strain, respectively. Orientation splitting associated with shear bands have a twinning relation. The shear bands were delineated by large-angle grain boundaries, having close relation to twinning relation with matrix, suggesting the role of deformation twinning as their nucleation sites. The activation of deformation twinning is suggested and can be rationalized by favorable crystallographic orientation and critical dislocation density as indicated elsewhere by the present authors.

Abstract: Pure commercial Cu of 99,98 wt % purity was processed at room temperature by Equal- Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) following route Bc. Heavy deformation was introduced in the samples after a considerable number of ECAP passes, namely 1, 4, 8, 12 and 16. A significant grain refinement was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tensile and microhardness tests were also carried out on the deformed material in order to correlate microstructure and mechanical properties. Microhardness measurements displayed a quite homogeneous strain distribution. The most significative microstructural and mechanical changes were introduced in the first ECAP pass although a gradual increment in strength and a slight further grain refinement was noticed in the consecutive ECAP passes.

Abstract: Fine grained copper was studied using the stress relaxation technique and creep testing in nano-indentation, to determine the activation volume involved in the micro-mechanism of the deformation. This material exhibits a near-perfect elasto-plastic deformation, featured by a steep work-hardening, after the elastic domain, followed by flow at a constant stress. Measurements of the activation volumes in the various domains reveal the role of the dislocations and the variation in the dislocation density in the deformation mechanism. This emphasizes the importance, in the determination of the activation volume, of the deformation domain investigated as well as the testing technique used and whether in both cases, the measurement is carried out in a transient domain or condition where variation in dislocation density occurs.

Abstract: A tungsten heavy alloy (92%W, Ni-Co matrix) is subjected to severe plastic deformation (SPD) by high pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature up to equivalent strains of 0.7, 5.3, 10.7 and 14.3. The microstructure and the mechanical properties are investigated by cylindrical compression samples at quasi-static and dynamic loading. The harder spherical W particles are homogeneously deformed within the softer matrix, becoming ellipsoidal at medium strains and banded at high strains without shear localization or fracture. Results of quasi-static loading show that the strength is approaching a limiting value at strains of ~10. At this strain for the matrix a grain size of ~80 nm and for W a cell size of ~250 nm was observed, suggesting strain concentration on the matrix. The initial yield stress of 945 MPa for the coarse-grained condition is increased thereby to an ultimate value of 3500 MPa, while a peak stress of ~3600 MPa is reached. Such remarkably strength has never been reported before for pure W or W-based composites. The strain hardening capacity as well as the strain rate sensitivity is reduced drastically, promoting the early formation of (adiabatic) shear bands.

Abstract: Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE), involving intense plastic straining under high applied pressure is generally recognized and extensively studied top down approach for producing bulk ultra-fine grained (UFG) metallic materials, and even going down in size to the nanometer range. In this research efforts are made to identify conditional under which grains with size less than 100 nm form after ECAE. Evolution of microstructure of Al-Li based alloy processed by ECAE is analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Observations on the effect of precipitates/second phase particles in the sample on the deformation characteristics and their role on the increased degree of grain fragmentation process is highlighted. Samples of Al-Li based alloy are solutionized, quenched and aged at different temperatures to obtain well formed precipitate laths/plates before subjecting to ECAE. During the deformation process these precipitates disintegrate into fragments and get dispersed into the Al matrix. The fragments of a few nanometers size bring about drastic changes in the flow as well as the recovery characteristics of processed samples. Evidence for dynamic recrystallisation taking place during the ECAE processing is presented. It was observed that optimal thermal treatment leads to more effective grain refinement and consequently an ultra-fine grained microstructure could be achieved even after single pass in Al-Li based alloy containing precipitates and second phase particles.

Abstract: The strength of a deformed metal depends on the content of high angle boundaries, low angle dislocation boundaries and the dislocations between the boundaries. High angle boundaries contribute by Hall-Petch strengthening, whereas for the low angle dislocation boundaries and dislocations between boundaries the strengthening is proportional to the square root of the dislocation density. Based on an assumption of additivity of these contributions, the flow stresses of metals deformed by cold rolling have been calculated successfully. In the present investigation pure Ni (99.9%) has been deformed by high pressure torsion (HPT) to von Mises strains of 0.9, 1.7, 8.7 and 12. The strength of the HPT Ni has been determined by Vickers microhardness (HV) measurements and the microstructural parameters have been determined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) in the longitudinal section. HPT has been compared with deformation by cold rolling and torsion based on the structural evolution with strain and the stress-structure relationship. Based on an assumption of a linear additivity of boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening, good agreement has been found between the calculated and the experimental flow stress.

Abstract: Long-range ordered intermetallic alloys with L12 (Ni3Al, Cu3Au) and B2 (FeAl) structures were deformed by high-pressure torsion at room temperature up to high grades of deformation. Transmission electron microscopy shows that disordering caused by the deformation occurs on a very local scale within coarse grains along glide planes (Cu3Au, Ni3Al) and in the form of well defined local regions (Ni3Al, FeAl). The latter leads to a duplex structure consisting of an ordered coarse-grained structure and a disordered nanocrystalline structure. The different mechanisms that can lead to disordering during severe plastic deformation are discussed on the basis of the different ordering energies and on the basis of antiphase boundaries associated with gliding dislocations. The results indicate that in intermetallic alloys the formation of a nanocrystalline structure by severe plastic deformation is facilitated by the loss of order.