Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AA5483 after Combination of ECAP and Hydrostatic Extrusion SPD Processes

Abstract

Abstract Al-Mg alloys of the 5xxx series are strain hardenable and have moderately high strength, excellent corrosion resistance even in salt water, and very high toughness even at cryogenic temperatures to near absolute zero, which makes them attractive for a variety of applications, e.g. in systems exploited at temperatures as low as -270°C, and marine applications. The present study is concerned with the effect of a combination of 2 processes, which generate serve plastic deformation (SPD), equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) and hydrostatic extrusion (HE), on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an alloy that contain Al and Mg. The alloy was subjected to multi-pass ECAP followed by cumulative HE with a total true strain of 5.9. The microstructure of SPD samples was evaluated by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical properties were determined by tensile tests and microhardness measurements. The combination of the two processes gave a uniform nanostructure with an average grain size of 70nm. The grain refinement taking place during the SPD processing resulted in the increase of the mechanical strength by 165% (YS) with respect to that of the material in the as- received state. The experiments have shown that the combination of HE and ECAP permits producing homogeneous nanocrystalline materials of large volumes.