Mechanical behaviour of ultrafine grained Al-Mg alloys obtained by different processing routes

Abstract

The subject of the study were microstructure and mechanical properties of two commercial 5xxx aluminium alloys obtained by Plastic Consolidation (PC) of nanopowders and Hydrostatic extrusion (HE). It has been observed that HE samples exhibit a higher strength whereas PC samples higher ductility. The two types of samples also differ in the type and intensity of serrations on stress-strain curves. The microstructures of samples processed were found to differ significantly in terms of size and shape of grains, grain boundary characteristics, second phase particles content and density of dislocations. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of microstructure on mechanical behaviour of 5xxx aluminium alloys processed by severe plastic deformation.