Grain refinement and superplasticity in a magnesium alloy processed by equal-channel angular pressing

Yuichi Miyahara, Kiyoshi Matsubara, Zenji Horita, Terence G. Langdon

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    75 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The extrusion/equal channel angular pressing (EX-ECAP) processing procedure, in which magnesium-based alloys are subjected to extrusion followed by ECAP, was applied to a Mg-7.5 pct Al-0.2 pct Zr alloy prepared by casting. Microstructural inspection showed the EX-ECAP process was effective in reducing the grain size from ∼21 μm after extrusion to an as-pressed grain size of ∼0.8 μm. It is shown through static annealing that these ultrafine grains are reasonably stable up to 473 K, but grain growth occurs at higher temperatures. Tensile specimens were cut from the billets prepared by EX-ECAP and testing showed these specimens exhibited superplasticity at relatively low temperatures with maximum elongations up to >700 pct. By processing through EX-ECAP to a higher imposed strain and thereby increasing the area fraction of high-angle boundaries, it is demonstrated that there is a potential for achieving high-strain-rate superplasticity.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1705-1711
    Number of pages7
    JournalMetallurgical and Materials Transactions A: Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science
    Volume36
    Issue number7
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul 2005

    All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

    • Condensed Matter Physics
    • Mechanics of Materials
    • Metals and Alloys

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