Tension-Compression Asymmetry in Ultrafine-grained Commercially Pure Ti Processed by ECAP

A homogenous microstructure of ultrafine-grained (UFG) commercially pure (CP) Ti characterized by equiaxed grains/subgrains with an average grain size of about 150 nm and strong prismatic fiber texture were obtained after 4 passes of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP).Tension–compression asymmetry in yield and work hardening behavior of UFG CP Ti were investigated by uniaxial tension and compression tests.The experimental results reveal that UFG CP Ti exhibits a relatively obvious tensioncompression asymmetry in yielding and work hardening behavior.The basal and prismaticslip are suppressed either for tension or compression,which is the easiest to activate.The tension twin system{1012}<1011> easily activated in compression deformation due to the prismatic fiber texture based on the Schmidt factor,consequently resulting in a lower yield strength under compression than tension.ECAP can improve the tension-compression asymmetry of CP Ti due to grain refinement.The interaction among the dislocations,grain boundaries and deformation twins are the main work hardening mechanisms for compression deformation,while the interaction between the dislocations and grain boundaries for tension deformation.Deformation twins lead to the higher work hardening under compression than tension.

Fabrication of ultrafine-grained AA1060 sheets via accumulative roll bonding with subsequent cryorolling

Ultrafine-grained(UFG)AA1060 sheets were fabricated via five-cycle accumulative roll bonding(ARB)and subsequent three-pass cold rolling(298 K),or cryorolling(83 K and 173 K).Microstructures of the aluminum samples were examined via transmission electron microscopy,and their mechanical properties were measured via tensile and microhardness testing.Results indicate that ultrafine grains in ARB-processed sheets were further refined by subsequent rolling,and the grain size became finer with reducing rolling temperature.The mean grain size of 666 nm in the sheets subjected to ARB was refined to 346 or 266 nm,respectively,via subsequent cold rolling or cryorolling(83 K).Subsequent cryorolling resulted in ultrafine-grained sheets of higher strength and ductility than those of the sheets subjected to cold rolling.

Thickness-related synchronous increase in strength and ductility of ultrafine-grained pure aluminum sheets

To explore the specimen size effect of mechanical behavior of ultrafine-grained(UFG)materials with different structures,UFG Al sheets processed by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)were selected as target materials and the dependency of tensile behavior on sheet thickness(t)was systematically investigated.The strength and ductility of ECAPed UFG Al sheets were improved synchronously as t increased from 0.2 to 0.7 mm,and then no apparent change occurred when t reached to 0.7 and 1.0 mm.The corresponding microstructure evolved from dislocation networks in equiaxed grains into the walls and subgrains and finally into the dominated cells in elongated grains or subgrains.Meanwhile,dense shear lines(SLs)and shear bands(SBs)were clearly observed and microvoids and cracks were initiated along SBs with the increase of t.These observations indicated that the plastic deformation of UFG Al sheets was jointly controlled by shear banding,dislocation sliding,and grain-boundary sliding.Furthermore,the propagation of SBs became difficult as t increased.Finally,the obtained results were discussed and compared with those of annealed UFG Al and UFG Cu.

Anisotropic tensile behavior and related yield point phenomena in annealed ultrafine-grained pure aluminum

It is found that tensile flow curves of samples of annealed ultrafine-grained aluminum AA1090 show the development of a yield point and a significant mechanical anisotropy.To rationalize the anisotropic tensile behavior,the orientation data of the annealed material were measured using electron backscatter microscopy.It is found that the inferior mechanical properties of samples tested at 45°to the rolling direction may be attributed to a strong rolling texture effect and that the anisotropic magnitude of the yield drop may be related to the proportion of grains with soft orientations(defined as those with Schmid factor greater than 0.45)in the sample.Additionally,it is found that the anisotropy in tensile ductility is in general agreement with a Considère criterion analysis and that the mechanical anisotropy in the samples is only partly explained by the crystallographic texture,where microstructural anisotropy may also play a role.

Superplastic behavior of friction-stir welded Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy in ultrafine-grained condition

The present work was undertaken to improve superplastic ductility of friction-stir welded joints of ultrafine-grained(UFG)Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy.In order to suppress the undesirable abnormal grain growth,which typically occurs in the heavily deformed base material,the UFG material was produced at elevated temperature.It was suggested that the new processing route could reduce dislocation density in the UFG structure and thus enhance its thermal stability.It was found,however,that the new approach resulted in a relatively high fraction of low-angle boundaries which,in turn,retarded grain-boundary sliding during subsequent superplastic tests.Therefore,despite the successful inhibition of the abnormal grain growth in the base-material zone,the superplastic deformation was still preferentially concentrated in the fully-recrystallized stir zone of the material.As a result,the maximal elongation-to-failure did not exceed 700%.

Variation of the uniaxial tensile behavior of ultrafine-grained pure aluminum after cyclic pre-deformation

To explore the influence of cyclic pre-deformation on the mechanical behavior of ultrafine-grained（UFG）materials with a high stacking fault energy（SFE）,UFG Al processed by equal-channel angular pressing（ECAP）was selected as a target material and its tensile behavior at different pre-cyclic levels D（D=N_i/N_f,where N_i and N_f are the applied cycles and fatigue life at a constant stress amplitude of 50 MPa,respectively）along with the corresponding microstructures and deformation features were systematically studied.The cyclic pre-deformation treatment on the ECAPed UFG Al led to a decrease in flow stress,and a stress quasi-plateau stage was observed after yielding for all of the different-state UFG Al samples.The yield strengths_（YS）,ultimate tensile strengths_（UTS）,and uniform straineexhibited a strong dependence on D when D≤20%;however,when D was in the range from 20%to 50%,no obvious change in mechanical properties was observed.The micro-mechanism for the effect of cyclic pre-deformation on the tensile properties of the ECAPed UFG Al was revealed and compared with that of ECAPed UFG Cu through the observations of deformation features and microstructures.

Martensite decomposition under thermal-mechanical coupling conditions to fabricate an ultrafine-grained Ti6Al4Mo4Zr1W0.2Si alloy

The fabrication of ultrafine-grained microstructures(grain size below 1μm)in titanium alloys is beneficial for improving their mechanical properties at room temperature and medium tempera-tures(400-550°C).However,a long-standing challenge involves the low-cost manufacturing of bulk ultrafine-grained titanium alloys.In this work,we developed a facile strategy through martensite de-composition at thermal-mechanical coupling conditions,to fabricate an equiaxed microstructure in a Ti6Al4Mo4Zr1W0.2Si model alloy with an averageαgrain size of 315±62 nm.The formation of the ultrafine-grained microstructure was because the lattice strain stored in the martensitic initial mi-crostructure enhanced the nucleation rate of dynamic recrystallization,meanwhile,the pinning role of martensite decomposition productsβand(Ti,Zr)_(5)Si_(3)phases suppressed grain coarsening at high tem-peratures.Compared to conventional(α+β)alloys,the tensile strength of this alloy improved by 20%-30%at both room temperature and 550°C,without decreasing its ductility.In situ SEM observations revealed that the ultrafine-grained microstructure would not only suppress dislocation motions but also contribute to the homogenous deformation in the matrix of the material,therefore,it resulted in higher mechanical performance.The research results may be of great significance to the development of next-generation aviation titanium alloys.

Enhanced mechanical properties of a carbon and nitrogen co-doped interstitial high-entropy alloy via tuning ultrafine-grained microstructures

C-N co-doped interstitial high entropy alloy(iHEA)was reported to have high strength and ductility.However,iHEA with fully recrystallized ultrafine grains(UFGs)and underlying thermally activated pro-cesses associated with dislocation slip,twinning,and solute drag have not been reported yet.In this work,a C-N co-doped iHEA with nominal composition Fe_(48.5)Mn_(30)Co_(10)Cr_(10)C_(0.5)N_(1.0)(at.%)was prepared,and the microstructures were tuned by cold-rolling and annealing treatments to improve mechanical properties.Upon cold-rolling with a strain of 1.74,the main microstructures in the iHEA are composed of nano-grains,nano-twins,HCP laminates,and high density of dislocations,leading to ultrahigh hardness of 466.7 HV and tensile strength of 1730 MPa at the expense of ductility(2.44%).Both the nanostructures and the high hardness of the iHEA can be maintained up to an annealing temperature of 600℃(462.5 HV).After annealing at 650℃ for 1 h,the UFG microstructures are obtained in the iHEA,containing re-crystallized grains with an average grain size of 0.91μm and nanoprecipitates with an average diameter of 90.8 nm.The combined strengthening and hardening effects of UFGs,nanoprecipitates,twinning,and solutes contribute to high strain hardening(n=0.81),gigapascal yield strength(984 MPa),and good duc-tility(20%).The C-N co-doping leads to a strong drag effect on dislocation slip,resulting in a nano-scale mean free path of dislocation slip λ(1.44 nm)and much small apparent activation volume V^(∗)(15.8 b^(3))of the UFG iHEA.

A high-Nb-TiAl alloy with ultrafine-grained structure fabricated by cryomilling and spark plasma sintering

In this work,an ultrafine-grained high-Nb-TiAl alloy with a nominal composition of Ti-45Al-8Nb-0.2W-0.2B(at%)was prepared by cryomilling and subsequent spark plasma sintering(SPS)technique.The chemical composition,particle size,morphology and crystallite size of cryomilled powder were studied.It is found that cryomilling can effectively reduce the particle size and enhance grain refinement.The ingots sintered at 900 and 1000℃ show an equiaxed near-γmicrostructure with grain sizes<700 nm,while the sample sintered at 1100℃exhibits duplex microstructure.Especially,the one sintered at 1000℃ has excellent mechanical properties,whose compression yield strength,fracture strength,bending strength and plastic strain achieve 1310,2174,578 MPa and 16.8%,respectively.The reasons for the effect of cryomilling and the mechanical behavior of sintered ingots were discussed.It is suggested that cryomilling in combination with SPS is an effective way to synthesize high-NbTiAl alloy with ultrafine-grained structure.

Effect of magnetic field on dislocation morphology and precipitation behaviour in ultrafine-grained 7075 aluminium alloy

The influence of magnetic field(1 T)on dislocation morphology and precipitation behaviour of ultrafinegrained(UFG)Al 7075 alloy was investigated after ageing from 90 to 200℃ via wide angle X-ray scattering(WAXS),small angle X-ray scattering(SAXS),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Experimental results reveal that the improved precipitation kinetics of alloys in the thickness plane(denoted as sample II)as compared to those in the rolling plane(denoted as sample I),which arises due to a higher dislocation density(morphology of dislocation cells)of the thickness plane than that of the rolling plane(morphology of dislocations and dislocation tangles).Specifically,because of different dislocation morphologies,the magnetic field positively and negatively affects the dislocation activity in samples I and II,leading to enhanced and suppressed precipitation behaviors,respectively.Interestingly,nucleation of theηphase is facilitated in the UFG alloy at the critical temperature(140℃)because it affords a faster rate of atom diffusion and a higher dislocation density as compared to those exhibited by its coarse-grained alloy.This systematic and comprehensive study provides new insights into dislocation morphology and precipitation behaviour of the UFG 7075 Al alloy,while enabling the optimization of precipitation kinetics.

Effect of Annealing on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrafine-Grained Low-Carbon Medium-Manganese Steel Produced by Heavy Warm Rolling

An ultrafine-grained(UFG) low-carbon medium-manganese steel was fabricated by the heavily warm rolling(HWR) and subsequent quenching, and the effects of annealing temperatures on microstructure and mechanical properties of the UFG HWRed steel were investigated. The results show that the HWRed steel exhibits simultaneous improvements in strength,uniform elongation and work hardening, which is mainly attributed to the refinement of martensitic microstructures. The HWRed steels comprise only a-phase when annealing at lower temperatures below to 550 °C and at higher temperatures above to 700 °C. Whereas, UFG c-austenite is formed by reverse transformation when the HWRed steel was annealed at intermediate temperatures from 550 to 700 °C and the volume fraction increases with increasing annealing temperatures,consequently resulting in a dramatic increase in ductility of the annealed HWRed steels. It was found that the transformed UFG austenite and ferrite remained ～500 nm and ～800 nm in size when the HWRed steel was annealed at 650 and700 °C for 1 h, respectively, showing an excellent thermal stability. Moreover, the HWRed steel annealed at 650 °C exhibits high strength-ductility combinations with a yield strength of 906 MPa, ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of1011 MPa, total elongation(TEL) of 51% and product of strength and elongation(PSE: UTS 9 TEL) of 52 GPa%. It is believed that these excellent comprehensive mechanical properties are closely associated with the UFG austenite formation by reverse transformation and principally attributed to the transformation-induced plasticity(TRIP) effect.

Vickers and Knoop Micro-hardness Behavior of Coarse-and Ultrafine-grained Titanium

The present study focuses on the relationship of hardness with grain size for commercially pure titanium （CpTi） and ultra fine grained titanium （UFG-Ti） produced by equal channel angular process （ECAP） of Cp-Ti）.Vickers and Knoop indentations of UFG-Ti at different loads was ～2.5 times harder than those of Cp-Ti.Xray diffraction （XRD） analysis showed peak broadening in UFG-Ti due to reduced grain size and micro-lattice strains.Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） revealed that ECAP had reduced the grain size of Cp-Ti by ～10 times.Weibull statistics showed UFG-Ti with lower dispersion in hardness values compare to Cp-Ti indicating a more uniform microstructure.

Microstructure Evolution and Microhardness of Ultrafine-grained High Carbon Steel during Multiple Laser Shock Processing

Surface microstructure and microhardness of （ferrite＋ cementite） microduplex structure of the ultrafine- grained high carbon steel after laser shock processing （LSP） with different impact times were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and microhardness measurements. Equiaxed ferrite grains were refined from 400 to 150 nm, and the cementite lamellae were fully spheroidized, with a decrease of the particle diameter from 150 to 100 nm as the impact times increased. The cementite dissolution was enhanced significantly. Correspondingly, the lattice parameter of α-Fe and microhard- hess increased with the impact times.

Towards ultrastrong and ductile medium-entropy alloy through dual-phase ultrafine-grained architecture

Advanced materials with superior comprehensive mechanical properties are strongly desired,but it has long been a challenge to achieve high ductility in high-strength materials.Here,we proposed a new V 0.5 Cr 0.5 CoNi medium-entropy alloy(MEA)with a face-centered cubic/hexagonal close-packed(FCC/HCP)dual-phase ultrafine-grained(UFG)architecture containing stacking faults(SFs)and local chemical order(LCO)in HCP solid solution,to obtain an ultrahigh yield strength of 1476 MPa and uniform elongation of 13.2%at ambient temperature.The ultrahigh yield strength originates mainly from fine grain strength-ening of the UFG FCC matrix and HCP second-phase strengthening assisted by the SFs and LCO inside,whereas the large ductility correlates to the superior ability of the UFG FCC matrix to storage disloca-tions and the function of deformation-induced SFs in the vicinity of the FCC/HCP boundary to eliminate the stress concentration.This work provides new guidance by engineering novel composition and stable UFG structure for upgrading the mechanical properties of metallic materials.

Tensile behavior of ultrafine-grained low carbon medium manganese steel by intercritical annealing treatment

The intercritical annealing treatment at 650 and 700 ℃ results in two ultrafine-grained (UFG) dual-phase ferrite-austenitesteels. The two steels exhibit different and special discontinuous yielding and pronounced Lüders-like strain phenomenawith large yielding strain which are related to their retained γ-austenite (RA) volume fractions and RA stabilities. The steelannealed at 650 ℃ shows an absent or very small strain hardening, while the steel annealed at 700 ℃ shows an obviousstrain hardening upward curvature with increasing strain. The results show that before and during straining, the steel annealedat 650 ℃ exhibits a mixture of equiaxed and elongated UFG α-ferrite and austenite phases;however, the steel annealed at700 ℃ exhibits only elongated UFG α and γ phases. It was found that most of the γ-austenite to α′-martensite transformationoccurred at the initial deformation stage and very small or almost no transformation occurred afterward. This demonstratesthat the strain-induced martensite (SIM) transformation (γ-α′) or transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect dominatesonly at the initial deformation stage. RA remained stable, and no TRIP effect was observed at the final deformation stage. Theload-unload-reload test was performed to evaluate the back stress (σb) hardening effect. It is believed that the pronouncedstrain hardening behavior at the later deformation stage is mainly associated with σb enhancement induced by the strainpartitioning between the soft and hard phases due to SIM transformation during tensile deformation.

Nanoscale deformation of multiaxially forged ultrafine-grained Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloy with high strength-high ductility combination and comparison with the coarse-grained counterpart

Cold processing of magnesium （Mg） alloys is a challenge because Mg has a hexagonal close-packed （HCP） lattice with limited slip systems, which makes it difficult to plastically deform at low temperature. To address this challenge, a combination of annealing of as-cast alloy and multi-axial forging was adopted ro obtain isotropic ultrafine-grained （UFG） structure in a lean Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloy with high strength （yield strength： ~227 MPa）-high ductility （% elongation： ～30%） combination. This combination of strength and ductility is excellent for the lean alloy, enabling an understanding of deformation processes in a formable high strength Mg-rare earth alloy. The nanoscale deformation behavior was studied via nanoindentation and electron microscopy, and the behavior was compared with its low strength （yield strength： ～46 MPa） - low ductility （% elongation： ～7%） coarse-grained （CG） counterpart. In the UFG alloy, extensive dislocation slip was an active deformation mechanism, while in the CG alloy, mechanical twinning occurred. The differences in the deformation mechanisms of UFG and CG alloys were reflected in the discrete burst in the load-displacement plots. The deformation of Mg-2Zn-2Gd alloys was significantly influenced by the grain structure, such that there was change in the deformation mechanism from dislocation slip （non-basal slip） to nanoscale twins in the CG structure. The high plasticity ofUFG Mg alloy involved high dislocation activity and change in activation volume.

Effect of martensitic transformation on nano/ultrafine-grained structure in 304 austenitic stainless steel

304 austenitic stainless steel was cold rolled in the range of 20%-80%reductions and then annealed at 700-900°C for 60 sto obtain nano/ultrafine-grained（NG/UFG）structure.Transmission electron microscopy,electron backscatter diffraction and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the resulting microstructures.The results showed that with the increase of cold reduction,the content of martensite was increased.The steel performed work hardening during cold-working owing to the occurrence of strain induced martensite which nucleated in single shear bands.Further rolling broke up the lath-type martensite into dislocation-cell type martensite because of the formation of slip bands.Samples annealed at 800-960°C for 60 swere of NG/UFG structure with different percentage of nanocrystalline（60-100 nm）and ultrafine（100-500 nm）grains,submicron size（500-1000 nm）grains and micron size（〉1000 nm）grains.The value of the Gibbs free energy exhibited that the reversion mechanism of the reversion process was shear controlled by the annealing temperature.For a certain annealing time during the reversion process,austenite nucleated first on dislocation-cell type martensite and the grains grew up subsequently and eventually to be micrometer/submicrometer grains,while the nucleation of austenite on lath-type martensite occurred later resulting in nanocrystalline/ultrafine grains.The existence of the NG/UFG structure led to a higher strength and toughness during tensile test.

Microstructure Characteristics in Ultrafine-grained Commercially Pure Aluminium after Laser Shock Processing

The aim of this paper was to address the effect of laser shock processing (LSP) on the microstructure of ultrafine-grained commercially pure aluminium which was produced through severe cold rolling and annealing. The microstructure characteristics of ultrafine-grained commercially pure aluminium were experimentally investigated by TEM during ultra-high strain rate loading. The results show that microstructure was obviously refined due to ultra-high plastic strain induced by a single pass LSP impacts. The grain sizes decrease from 0.6 μm after severe cold rolling and annealing to 0.3 μm at the center of the laser shock wave after a single pass LSP. There is a distinct increase in the dislocation density at the edge of the laser shock wave. These experiments have guide meaning to the practical engineering applications of LSP technique.

Uniaxial compressive behavior of equal channel angular pressing Al at wide temperature and strain rate range

Uniaxial compressive experiments of ultrafine-grained Al fabricated by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) method were performed at wide temperature and strain rate range. The influence of temperature on flow stress, strain hardening rate and strain rate sensitivity was investigated experimentally. The results show that both the effect of temperature on flow stress and its strain rate sensitivity of ECAPed Al is much larger than those of the coarse-grained Al. The temperature sensitivity of ultrafine-grained Al is comparatively weaker than that of the coarse-grained Al. Based on the experimental results, the apparent activation volume was estimated at different temperatures and strain rates. The forest dislocation interactions is the dominant thermally activated mechanism for ECAPed Al compressed at quasi-static strain rates, while the viscous drag plays an important role at high strain rates.

A crystal plasticity based approach to establish role of grain size and crystallographic texture in the Tension–Compression yield asymmetry and strain hardening behavior of a Magnesium–Silver–Rare Earth alloy

Existence of tension–compression yield asymmetry is a serious limitation to the load bearing capablities of Magnesium alloys in a number of light weight structural applications.The present work is aimed at nullifying the tension to compression asymmetry problem and strain hardening anomalies in a Magnesium–Silver–Rare Earth alloy by engineering different levels of microstructural conditions via friction stir processing and post process annealing.The existence and extent of yield asymmetry ratio in the range of microstructural conditions was experimentally obtained through quasistatic tensile and compression tests.The yield asymmetry problem was profoundly present in specimens of coarse grained microstructures when compared to their fine grained and ultra fine grained counterparts.The impact of the microstructure and associated mechanisms of plasticity on the macroscopic strain hardening behavior was established by Kock–Mecking’s analysis.Crystal plasticity simulations using Viscoplastic Self Consistency approach revealed the consequential role of extension twinning mechanism for the existence of yield asymmetry and anomalies in strain hardening behavior.This was especially dominant with coarsening of grain size.Electron Microscopy and characterization were conducted thoroughly in partially deformed specimens to confirm the predictions of the above simulations.The role of crystallographic texture for inducing the polarity to Tension–Compression yield asymmetry was corroborated.A critical grain size in Magnesium–Silver–Rare earth alloy was hereby established which could nullify influences of extension twinning in yield asymmetry ratio.