Superplastic Behavior of Ultrafine Grained Al Alloys Fabricated by Severe Plastic Deformation

Abstract

Ultrafine grained (UFG) 5083 Al and 5154 Al alloys were prepared by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with an effective strain of ~ 4 or ~ 8. This investigation was aimed at examining the effect of the ECAP strain and post-rolling inducing different microstructure in these alloys on the deformation mechanisms at low temperature superplastic (LTS) and high strain superplastic (HSRS) regimes. The sample after 4 passes (a strain of ∼ 4) did not exhibit LTS, but superplastic elongations were obtained in the sample after 8 passes (a strain of ∼ 8). An analysis of the mechanical data in light of the standard deformation mechanisms revealed that deformation of the sample after 4 passes was governed by dislocation climb while grain boundary sliding attributed to LTS of the sample after 8 passes. In addition, the 5154 Al alloy processed by ECAP and postrolling was capable of enhancing HSRS elongation significantly. An analysis revealed that the deformation mode was changed from dislocation viscous glide to grain boundary sliding by additional ECAP strain and post-rolling.