Thermal stability of Copper processed by Multidirectional forging: Effect of deformation amplitude and cumulative Strain

Abstract

Experiments were performed in order to evaluate the effect of deformation amplitude (Δε) and cumulative strain (ε) on the thermal stability of Copper 99.8% pure, after processing with 8 and 48 Multidirectional forging (MDF) cycles at room temperature with Δε ≈ 0.075 (MDF0.075) or 2 and 12 MDF cycles with Δε ≈ 0.30 (MDF0.30), leading to cumulative deformations of ε ≈ 1.8 and 10.8. The microstructural stability at elevated temperatures was evaluated through Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and heat treatments, combined with Vickers microhardness measurements and Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD). Further analyses were carried out through thermodynamic considerations about the stored energy and driving pressures for boundary migration. The results showed that the thermal stability associated with static recrystallization decreases as ε and Δε in MDF increase, due to the presence of finer grain structures and higher dislocation density in the as-deformed material. In addition, the MDF-processed specimens deformed with high ε and Δε exhibited finer recrystallized grains than those processed with low ε and Δε as a result of their increased number of nucleation sites. Thermal stability increases in the following order: 12C-MDF0.30, 2C-MDF0.30, 48C-MDF0.075 and 8C-MDF0.075.