Mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of ultrafine grained zircaloy-4 processed through multiaxial forging at cryogenic temperature

低温多向锻造锆-4合金的力学性能和超细晶组织演化（英文）

The mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of zircaloy-4 subjected to cumulative strains of 1.48,2.96,4.44 and 5.91 through multiaxial forging（MAF） at cryogenic temperature（77 K） were investigated.The mechanical properties of the MAF treated alloy were measured through universal tensile testing and Vickers hardness testing equipment.The zircaloy-4 deformed up to a cumulative strain of 5.91 showed improvement in both ultimate tensile strength and hardness from 474 MPa to 717 MPa and from HV 190 to HV 238,respectively,as compared with the as-received alloy.However,there was a noticeable decrement in ductility（from 18%to 3.5%） due to the low strain hardening ability of deformed zircaloy-4.The improvement in strength and hardness of the deformed alloy is attributed to the grain size effect and higher dislocation density generated during multiaxial forging.The microstructural evolutions of deformed samples were characterized by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）.The evolved microstructure at a cumulative strain of 5.91 obtained after MAF up to 12 cycles depicted the formation of ultrafine grains with an average size of 150-250 nm.

研究低温（77K）多向锻造锆-4合金累积应变为1.48,2.96,4.44和5.91时的力学性能和组织演变。通过万能拉伸测试和维氏硬度实验测得多向锻造合金的力学性能。相对于原始合金,当锆-4合金变形的累积变形为5.91时,其极限抗拉强度从474MPa提高到717MPa,维氏硬度从HV 190提高到HV 238。然而,由于锆-4合金的低应变硬化,其延展性显著降低（18%-3.5%）。变形合金强度和硬度的提高是因为多向锻造引起的晶粒尺寸效应和高的位错密度。采用光学显微镜和透射电镜表征变形试样的显微组织演化。当累积应变为5.91时,经12次多向锻造后合金的微观组织演化主要是超细晶的形成,其平均晶粒尺寸为150-250nm。