Microstructure and Properties of Nanostructured Zirconium Processed by High Pressure Torsion

Abstract

Several structural states of nanostructured zirconium were achieved by high pressure torsion (HPT) at pressures of 2 and 4 GPa with and without subsequent low temperature annealing. The nanostructured Zr was studied by X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry to reveal the microstructure, phase composition and the thermal stability of this material. The fine grained structure being achieved by HPT had an average grain size of 100-200 nm. It was shown that HPT at 4 GPa leads to a phase transformation from α-Zr to ω-Zr, which has been demonstrated to be reversible by annealing at 300 °C without considerable change of the grain size. The evaluation of texture evolution in Zr during HPT exhibits activity of prismatic slip systems. DSC curves confirm the presence of HPT deformation induced lattice defects and the occurrence of the ω-α phase transition in Zr.