Deformation mechanisms and microstructural characteristics of AZ61 magnesium alloys processed by a continuous expansion extrusion approach

The unique continuous extrusion-based severe plastic deformation approaches were proposed recently to process high-performance magnesium (Mg) alloys,while the in-depth deformation mechanisms under such complicated thermomechanical conditions were not well understood In the present work,the fundamental deformation behaviors of AZ61 Mg alloy from 25 to 400°C were firstly examined under uniaxial compression deformation.Then the deformation mechanisms and microstructural characteristics of AZ61 Mg alloy during continuous expansion extrusion forming (CEEF) were systematically investigated by microstructural observations,finite element and cellular automata simulations The results showed that the continuous evolutions of temperature,larger strain level and complex stress state with strain rate range of 0~5.98 s-1during CEEF brought the distinctive dynamic recrystallization behaviors and texture development in AZ61 Mg alloy,which were different to that of uniaxial compression deformation.In details,a remarkable grain refinement was achieved via CEEF processing due to the simultaneous actions of continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX).Gradually enhanced CDRX were observed from center to edge region,which had significant effects on the texture distribution and texture strength.The c-axis of most grains rotated under distinctive shear strain following parabolic metal flow,resulting in stable fiber texture.In addition,the evolution of the internal texture of the alloy led to an obvious increase in the Schmid factor for the activation of basal(c+a)slip system.©2022 Chongqing University.Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V.on behalf of Ke Ai Communications Co.Ltd.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31 alloy prepared by cyclic expansion extrusion with asymmetrical extrusion cavity

The microstructure,texture evolution and mechanical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy were investigated during the cyclic expansion extrusion with the asymmetrical extrusion cavity(CEE-AEC)process.The results show that continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX)and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization(DDRX)occur during the CEE-AEC process.After 3 passes,the microstructures of the deformed samples are refined,and the average grain size of the alloys in asymmetrical cavity region is 6.9μm.The maximum intensities of the basal textures increase with the increase in the number of passes,and the basal textures are deflected during the deformation process.The basal texture of the alloys in asymmetrical cavity region is tilted by approximately±45°from the normal direction(ND)to the extrusion direction(ED).Grain refinement strengthening and texture deflection significantly improve the comprehensive mechanical properties of the deformed alloys.After 3 passes,tensile yield strength(TYS),ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and elongation-to-failure of the alloy in the asymmetric cavity region are 146 MPa,230 MPa and 29.7%,respectively.

Severe plastic deformation of commercially pure aluminum using novel equal channel angular expansion extrusion with spherical cavity

Equal channel angular expansion extrusion with spherical cavity(ECAEE-SC)was introduced as a novel severe plastic deformation(SPD)technique,which is capable of imposing large plastic strain and intrinsic back-pressure on the processed billet.The plastic deformation behaviors of commercially pure aluminum during ECAEE-SC process were investigated using finite element analysis DEFORM-3D simulation software.The material flow,the load history,the distribution of effective strain and mean stress in the billet were analyzed in comparison with conventional equal channel angular extrusion(ECAE)process.In addition,single-pass ECAEE-SC was experimentally conducted on commercially pure aluminum at room temperature for validation,and the evolution of microstructure and microhardness of as-processed material was discussed.It was shown that during the process,the material is in the ideal hydrostatic stress state and the load requirement for ECAEE-SC is much more than that for ECAE.After a single-pass ECAEE-SC,an average strain of 3.51 was accumulated in the billet with homogeneous distribution.Moreover,the microstructure was significantly refined and composed of equiaxed ultrafine grains with sub-micron size.Considerable improvement in the average microhardness of aluminum was also found,which was homogenized and increased from HV 36.61 to HV 70.20,denoting 91.75%improvement compared with that of the as-cast billet.

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropy of an ultrafine/nano-grained pure copper tube processed via hydrostatic tube cyclic expansion extrusion

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropic behavior of an ultrafine-grained(UFG)pure copper tube processed by recently introduced method of hydrostatic tube cyclic expansion extrusion(HTCEE)was investigated.For the UFG tube,different deformation behavior and a significant anisotropy in tensile properties were recorded along the longitudinal and peripheral directions.The HTCEE process increased the yield strength and the ultimate strength in the axial direction by 3.6 and 1.67 times,respectively.Also,this process increased the yield strength and the ultimate strength in the peripheral direction by 1.15 and 1.12 times,respectively.The ratio of ultimate tensile strength in the peripheral direction to that in the axial direction,as a criterion for mechanical anisotropy,are 1.7 and 1.16 for the as-annealed coarse-grained and the HTCEE processed UFG tube,respectively.The results are indicative of a reducing effect of the HTCEE process on the mechanical anisotropy.Besides,after HTCEE process,a low loss of ductility was observed in both directions,which is another advantage of HTCEE process.Hardness measurements revealed a slight increment of hardness values in the peripheral direction,which is in agreement with the trend of tensile tests.Texture analysis was conducted in order to determine the oriental distribution of the grains.The obtained{111}pole figures demonstrate the texture evolution and reaffirm the anisotropy observed in mechanical properties.Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that different modes of fracture occurred after tensile testing in the two orthogonal directions.

Microstructure, mechanical properties and deformation characteristics of Al-Mg-Si alloys processed by a continuous expansion extrusion approach

In the present work,a double-pass continuous expansion extrusion forming(CEEF) process was proposed for an Al-Mg-Si alloy,in which the diameter of rods was gradually expanded.The microstructural evolution,mechanical properties and deformation characteristics were investigated by utilizing microstructural observations,mechanical testing and a finite element method coupled with a cellular automata model.The results showed that the strength and ductility of the double-pass CEEF processed Al-Mg-Si alloys were improved synchronously,especially in artificially aged alloys.The grain size of the processed Al-Mg-Si alloy rods was refined remarkably by continuous dynamic recrystallization(CDRX)and geometric dynamic recrystallization(GDRX),and the homogeneity of microstructure was gradually improved with increasing number of processing passes.The artificially aged alloy processed with double-pass CEEF and water quenching contained fine(sub)grains and high-density dislocations,which resulted in more needle-shaped β" precipitates and a larger precipitate aspect ratio than the as-received and air-cooled CEEF alloys owing to the different precipitation kinetics.The severe cumulate strain and microshear bands were found to accelerate CDRX and GDRX for grain refinement between adjacent positions of the parabolic metal flow due to the special temperature characteristics and la rge shear straining during the CEEF process.