Processing by Severe Plastic Deformation: Historical Developments and Current Impact

Abstract

It is well established that processing through the application of severe plastic deformation (SPD) provides opportunities for achieving exceptional grain refinement to the submicrometer or even the nanometer level. This paper provides a brief summary of the developments in SPD processing from the earliest days in ancient China to research at the present time. It is shown that SPD research and bulk nanostructured materials have had a significant impact on the field of Materials Science. Using citation data and examining the publication records for five major journals, the analysis shows research in these areas accounts for a large fraction of the top ten all-time most cited papers in these journals.