Factors Influencing Ductility in Ultrafine-Grained Metals Processed by Equal-Channel Angular Pressing

Abstract

The processing of bulk metals through the application of severe plastic deformation provides an opportunity for achieving exceptional grain refinement to the submicrometer or even the nanometer range. This paper examines the characteristics of metals processed by equal-channel angular pressing with special emphasis on the levels of ductility that may be attained. It is shown that the amount of ductility is dependent not only upon the composition of the material but also, and to a major extent, upon the testing temperature. Specifically, the ductilities are often low at ambient temperatures where the strength of the as-processed material is relatively high but, by contrast, exceptionally high superplastic ductilities may be achieved over short ranges of strain rate when testing at elevated temperatures.