Structure, strength and superplasticity of ultrafine-grained 1570C aluminum alloy subjected to different thermomechanical processing routes based on severe plastic deformation

Abstract

Abstract A comparative study of the structure and mechanical behavior of an Al−5Mg−0.18Mn−0.2Sc−0.08Zr− 0.01Fe−0.01Si (wt.%) alloy ingot subjected to multidirectional isothermal forging (MIF) to a strain of 12 or equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) to a strain of 10 at 325 °C, and subsequent warm and cold rolling (WR and CR) at 325 and 20 °C, was performed. The results showed that the MIF process of ultrafine-grained structure with a (sub)grain size dUFG=2 µm resulted in enhanced room-temperature ductility and superplastic elongation up to 2800%. Further grain refinement under WR as well as development of a heavily-deformed microstructure with high dislocation density by subsequent CR resulted in a yield/ultimate tensile strength increase from 235/360 MPa after MIF to 315/460 and 400/515 MPa after WR and CR, respectively. Simultaneously, WR led to improved superplastic elongation up to 4000%, while after CR the elongation remained sufficiently high (up to 1500%). Compared with MIF, ECAP resulted in more profound grain refinement (dUFG=1 µm), which promoted higher strength and superplastic properties. However, this effect smoothed down upon WR, ensuring equal properties of the processed sheets. CR of the ECAPed alloy, in contrast, led to higher strengthening and slightly better superplastic behavior than those after CR following MIF.