High-Pressure Torsion: A Path to Refractory High-Entropy Alloys from Elemental Powders

For the first time, the refractory high-entropy alloys with equiatomic compositions, HfNbTa- TiZr and HfNbTiZr, were synthesized directly from a blend of elemental powders through ten revolutions of high-pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature. This method has demonstrated its effectiveness and simplicity not only in producing solid bulk materials but also in manufacturing refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs). Unlike the melting route, which typically results in pre- dominantly single BCC phase alloys, both systems formed new three-phase alloys. These phases were defined as the Zr-based hcp1 phase, the α-Ti-based hcp2 phase, and the Nb-based bcc phase. The volume fraction of the phases was dependent on the accumulated plastic strain. The thermal stability of the phases was studied by annealing samples at 500 ◦C for one hour, which resulted in the formation of a mixed structure consisting of the new two hexagonal and cubic phases

Bimodal grain size distributions in UFG materials produced by SPD: Their evolution and effect on mechanical properties

The mechanical properties of bulk ultrafine-grained materials produced by severe plastic deformation can be modified (sometimes enhanced) by a mild annealing treatment which leads, in some cases, to a bimodal grain size distribution, characterized by a good combination of strength and ductility. Bimodal grain size distributions can also evolve during cyclic deformation at rather low homologous temperature. Here, the conditions under which bimodal grain size distributions evolve and how they affect the mechanical properties, as studied by the authors and as reported so far in the literature, will be reviewed and discussed

Asymmetric rolling of interstitial-free steel using differential roll diameters. Part II : microstructure and annealing effects

The effects of annealing on the microstructure, texture, tensile properties, and R value evolution of an IF steel sheet after room-temperature symmetric and asymmetric rolling were examined. Simulations were carried out to obtain R values from the experimental textures using the viscoplastic self-consistent polycrystal plasticity model. The investigation revealed the variations in the textures due to annealing and symmetric/asymmetric rolling and showed that the R values correlate strongly with the evolution of the texture. An optimum heat treatment for the balance of strength, ductility, and deep drawability was found to be at 873 K (600 _C) for 30 minutes

Extrusion limits of magnesium alloys

Magnesium alloys are generally found to be slower to extrude than aluminum alloys; however, limited quantitative comparisons of the actual operating windows have been published. In this work, the extrusion limits are determined for a series of commercial magnesium alloys (M1, ZM21, AZ31, AZ61, and ZK60). These are compared with the limits established for aluminum alloy AA6063. The maximum extrusion speed of alloy M1 is shown to be similar to AA6063. Alloys ZM21, AZ31, ZK60, and AZ61 exhibit maximum extrusion speeds 44, 18, 4, and 3 pct, respectively, of the maximum measured for AA6063. For AZ31, the maximum extrusion speed is increased by 22 pct after homogenization and by 64 pct for repeat extrusions. The variation in the extrusion limits with changing alloy content is rationalized in terms of differences in the hot working flow stress and solidus temperature.<br /

The origin of fracture in the I-ECAP of AZ31B magnesium alloy

Magnesium alloys are very promising materials for weight-saving structural applications due to their low density, comparing to other metals and alloys currently used. However, they usually suffer from a limited formability at room temperature and low strength. In order to overcome those issues, processes of severe plastic deformation (SPD) can be utilized to improve mechanical properties, but processing parameters need to be selected with care to avoid fracture, very often observed for those alloys during forming. In the current work, the AZ31B magnesium alloy was subjected to SPD by incremental equal-channel angular pressing (I-ECAP) at temperatures varying from 398 K to 525 K (125 °C to 250 °C) to determine the window of allowable processing parameters. The effects of initial grain size and billet rotation scheme on the occurrence of fracture during I-ECAP were investigated. The initial grain size ranged from 1.5 to 40 µm and the I-ECAP routes tested were A, BC, and C. Microstructures of the processed billets were characterized before and after I-ECAP. It was found that a fine-grained and homogenous microstructure was required to avoid fracture at low temperatures. Strain localization arising from a stress relaxation within recrystallized regions, namely twins and fine-grained zones, was shown to be responsible for the generation of microcracks. Based on the I-ECAP experiments and available literature data for ECAP, a power law between the initial grain size and processing conditions, described by a Zener–Hollomon parameter, has been proposed. Finally, processing by various routes at 473 K (200 °C) revealed that route A was less prone to fracture than routes BC and C

Microstructure, texture and tensile properties of ultrafine/nano grained magnesium alloy processed by accumulative back extrusion

An AZ31 wrought magnesium alloy was processed by employing multipass accumulative back extrusion process. The obtained microstructure, texture and room temperature tensile properties were characterized and discussed. Ultrafine grained microstructure including nano grains were developed, where the obtained mean grain size was decreased from 8 to 0.5 µm by applying consecutive passes. The frequency of both low angle and high angle boundaries increased after processing. Strength of the experimental alloy was decreased after processing, which was attributed to the obtained texture involving the major component lying inclined to the deformation axis. Both the uniform and post uniform elongations of the processed materials were increased after processing, where a total elongation of 68 pct was obtained after six-pass deformation. The contribution of different twinning and slip mechanism was described by calculating corresponding Schmid factors. The operation of prismatic slip was considered as the major deformation contributor. The significant increase in post uniform deformation of the processed material was discussed relying on the occurrence of grain boundary sliding associated with the operation of prismatic slip.Postprint (author's final draft

Damage Criterion for Prediction of Ductile Failure during Severe Plastic Deformation

ABSTRACT Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) processes are known to introduce large plastic deformation into material resulting in extreme grain refinement to nanometer range and significant enhancement of mechanical properties (e.g. strength) To design the tooling, to investigate parameters of processing, such as friction, temperature and speed of deformation, Finite Element (FE) simulation is used. FE gives the opportunity to run many simulations with different parameters in a short time and to optimize the deformation process. The typical output fields from FE simulation are strain, stress tensors and temperature distribution within the deformed material. However, to design the process against ductile failure of the workpiece, a single criterion is needed, which relates all output variables in a single scalar function. For this purpose the damage accumulated during plastic deformation is very useful. The damage model introduced in our earlier works is shown to be robust and accurate The ability of material to deform without fracture at different stress paths is defined by the Low Bound Ductility (LBD) function. LBD is a critical strain at fracture shown to be a function of stress parameters and temperature. It is highly sensitive to the initial microstructure, pre-processing history and composition. Therefore, it is not feasible to use the published data on material, in anticipation of similar failure behaviour, and LBD function has to be defined for accurate prediction of defects formation. The methodic of testing of material and building the reliable LBD function for this damage model is discussed. REFERENCE