Severe plastic deformation imposed under high hydrostatic pressure introduces a considerable dislocation substructure in metals from the early stages of deformation, ultimately resulting in grain fragmentation. Characterization and quantification of the substructure require methods with a sufficiently high angular and spatial resolution to reveal the local heterogeneities in orientation differences and the length scales of the substructure. However, the statistical relevance of the observations should be assured which requires relatively large fields of view. In present work, the evolution of dislocation substructures during static and dynamic high pressure torsion processing of commercially pure aluminum is examined. Orientation data obtained by electron backscatter diffraction using two different mapping step sizes are utilized to assess the detection of the dislocation substructures and boundaries during the grain fragmentation stage. Accumulation of distortion in the crystal produces an increase in measurement noise at each pixel which is estimated using Kamaya's plots. The storage of dislocations and related angular misfits reduces the peak height of the probability density distribution of misorientation gradients, moves the peak to higher misorientation gradients and widens the distribution. Superposition of double Rayleigh distributions over the combined dislocation boundary data predicts a slightly higher median for the frequency of geometrically necessary boundaries and larger misorientation gradients across these boundaries in dynamically deformed material. In incidental dislocation boundaries, higher misorientation gradients are only observed at lower equivalent strains. Buildup of shear strain leads to the deterioration in the quality of the fitting to a double Rayleigh distribution and is linked to the complex evolution pattern of the dislocation boundaries. Finally, in statically deformed material, anisotropy in the substructure evolution is observed in the shear and radial planes.

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Severe plastic deformation (SPD) of metals to obtain ultra-fine or even nano-sized grains has proven to be an interesting concept explored over the last few decades. However, the mechanical behavior of SPD metals and the underlying microstructural phenomena are not fully understood yet. In present work, commercially pure aluminum was subjected to high pressure torsion (HPT) deformation with strains ranging from very low levels to values well in the steady-state microstructure regime. The mechanical properties of the HPT processed samples were determined using tensile tests on miniature samples using full-field strain mapping. Orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) was utilized to follow the progression of grain refinement and texture as a function of imposed SPD. Local orientation based misorientation gradients helped to perform statistical boundary analysis and determine the fractions of incidental and geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) boundaries and local GND densities. From probability density distributions of the misorientation gradients two different stages of microstructural evolution, namely, fragmentation and saturation, could be discerned. The strength increased monotonously and the uniform elongation, though lower than the value of the annealed material, enhanced with the imposed strain in HPT. The post-necking response was observed to be highly microstructure dependent, where a lower grain size augmented the resistance for micro-crack propagation and enhanced the elongation-to-failure. In addition, the work hardening response corresponding to the yield point displayed maxima coinciding with the onset of the saturation stage. Anisotropy in fracture strain, observed between the axial and radial directions in a disk-like HPT sample, reduced with the randomization of shear texture, while higher intensities of the C {100}<110> orientation was considered responsible for the lower elongation-to-failure along the radial direction.

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Manufacturing of ultrafine-grained (UFG) or nanocrystalline (NC) metals via a single step top-down approach imposing severe plastic deformation (SPD) is one of the most promising ways to achieve superior properties such as high strength and superplastic forming capability. Nonetheless, the lack of relevant data on their post-SPD performance in different test environments makes it difficult to fully understand their mechanical behavior. While characterizing the tensile behavior, almost all of the previous reports are limited to the discussion on the plastic performance of the material in terms of elongation to failure and corresponding strength, with only a few studies discussing the effect of grain fragmentation on work hardening response of the material. In the present work, a comprehensive analysis is presented in terms of the uniform and post-necking mechanical behavior of the ultrafine-grained material. Commercially pure aluminum is subjected to high pressure torsion (HPT) deformation with strains ranging from very low levels (γ ≈ 2.1) to values well in the saturation regime (γ ≈ 25.1). When tested in uniaxial tension, the strength increases monotonously. The uniform elongation improves with the imposed HPT strain, though remains lower than the value of the initial material. Based on the slopes of the stress-strain curve, three distinct zones are identified, i.e. uniform deformation, post-necking-1, and post-necking-2. With accumulating SPD deformation, the material shows enhanced pre-necking strength and ductility; while post-necking material fails early and at lower strength levels. The post-necking response is observed to be highly microstructure dependent: a lower grain size augments the resistance for micro-crack propagation and thus the ductility, however, once initiated, a crack propagates much faster in fine-grained than in coarse-grained HPT processed material.

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In this paper, severe plastic deformation (SPD) is applied to commercially pure aluminum. Monotonic high pressure torsion (HPT) processing is employed at room temperature, and the microstructure of samples deformed up to an equivalent strain of 50 is investigated by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The distribution pattern and the density of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) are evaluated by examination of transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) maps. Three different methodologies are utilized for assessment of the GND density. It was observed that two distinct stages of grain fragmentation and steady-state occur during processing. During the first stage, a severe grain refinement was observed as the average grain size decreased from ~85 μm to ~1 μm at an equivalent strain of 10. Quantification of the density of dislocations in both deformation regimes showed that, independent of the choice of model, the GND density is greater in the fragmentation stage than in the steady-state stage. This observation was linked with the prevalence of the continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) phenomenon in each stage. Furthermore, a significant presence of GNDs in the steady-state stage was characterized. Formation of microstructure, grain refinement and saturation of grain size are discussed in the light of statistics of GNDs.

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Commercially pure aluminium was selected as a model fcc material for a detailed investigation of the microstructural and textural evolution during processing by high pressure torsion (HPT). Vickers hardness measurements reveal that: the hardness is the lowest where the lowest strain is imposed and increases with increasing strain until saturation hardness is obtained. The microstructural evolution is investigated by means of electron backscattered diffraction and transmission Kikuchi diffraction. During HPT a grain fragmentation process takes place: within the original grains dislocations aggregate, resulting in the creation of very fine grains separated first by low and later by high angle grain boundaries. At a strain level of (Formula presented.) a simple shear texture of fcc structure was observed.@en

International Union of Crystallography. The aim of this paper is to examine the morphological and crystallographic anisotropy that develops during high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing. Commercially pure aluminium was subjected to monotonic HPT deformation at room temperature. The microstructure and texture were studied by large-area electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) scans. Three-dimensional EBSD scans served to s crutinize the morphological anisotropy and local texture. It was observed that two distinct stages of grain fragmentation and saturation occur during processing. Grains exhibited an ellipsoidal shape rather than an equi-axed one. The major axes of the ellipsoids showed a favorable orientation at the steady-state stage: an almost 20° inclination towards the shear direction. The global texture was characterized by typical shear components of face-centered cubic metals at both stages. However, the local texture revealed a preferential fragmentation pattern in the first stage: orientations in the vicinity of ideal fibers became less heavily fragmented while non-ideal orientations broke up more severely. This phenomenon was linked with the lattice rotation required to bring an initial orientation close to a stable one. Although the texture weakened considerably in the fragmentation stage, the texture index did not further decrease in the saturation stage. Saturation of texture, grain refinement and formation of microstructure are discussed in the light of different microstructural coarsening mechanisms.Morphological and crystallographic anisotropy of severely deformed commercially pure aluminium is studied by conventional and three-dimensional electron backscatter diffraction. Saturation of texture, grain refinement and the formation of microstructure are discussed in the light of different microstructural coarsening mechanisms.@en

Commercially pure aluminum was chosen as a model face-centered cubic material for a detailed investigation of microstructural and textural evolution during processing by high pressure torsion. Severe grain refinement was observed as the average grain size decreased from ~ 85 μm to ~ 1.22 μm at an equivalent strain of ɛ = 99. It is observed that at early stages of deformation an accumulation of dislocations inside grains occurs. More straining results in an increase of misorientation and eventually gives rise to fragmentation of parent grains to new smaller grains. A near saturation of grain refinement is observed after a strain of ɛ = 15. Kernel average misorienation maps suggest the occurrence of a weak recovery process at relatively large strains, resulting in annihilation of dislocations inside the grains. The texture results show that a simple shear type texture develops during deformation, although it is a relatively weak texture due to the nature of simple shear strain mode and the occurrence of grain fragmentation. The full constraint Taylor model and the viscoplastic self-consistent crystal plasticity model were employed to reproduce the experimental textures at relatively large strains. It is shown that the Taylor model leads to a better agreement between simulated and experimental data. It is observed that a satisfactory simulation of the texture evolution at severe strain amplitudes cannot be obtained with models that ignore the effect of grain fragmentation.

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