High-pressure Torsion Revolutions Research Articles

Microstructures and mechanical properties of Ti5553 alloy processed by high-pressure torsion

In the present research, the effects of high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-5Al-5Mo-5V-3Cr (Ti5553) alloy were studied. HPT processing produced a white etching layer (WEL) in the middle section of the cross-section and numerous shear bands in the surface region of the cross-section. And the thickness of the WEL increased with increasing the HPT revolutions. TEM observation of the WEL revealed an ultrafine-grained structure with high degree of lattice distortions. The mechanical properties measurements showed that the hardness and ultimate tensile strength increased by HPT processing, accompanied with a decrease in the elongation to failure. It is considered that the mechanical properties of HPT processed Ti5553 alloy are mostly dominated by the shear banded region and the WEL where have the finest grain size and high density of dislocations.

Mechanical Properties and Dislocation Structure Evolution in Ti6Al7Nb Alloy Processed by High Pressure Torsion

Ultrafine-grained biocompatible Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy was produced by high pressure torsion (HPT). Lattice defects—vacancies and dislocations—investigated by positron annihilation spectroscopy, observations by scanning electron microscopy, and microhardness evaluation are linked to the strain imposed by different numbers of HPT revolutions and to the distance from the specimen center. Positron annihilation spectroscopy showed significant increase of dislocation density and concentration of vacancy clusters after ½ of the HPT revolution. Microhardness increases by 20 pct with increasing strain, but it is heterogenous due to duplex microstructure. The heterogeneity of the microhardness increases with increasing strain, suggesting that a heavily deformed and fragmented α + β lamellar microstructure is more hardened than primary alpha grains. The defect structure is homogenous after ½ HPT revolution, while the microhardness becomes homogenous after 3 HPT revolutions only.

An examination of microstructural evolution in a Cu–Ni–Si alloy processed by HPT and ECAP

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the evolution of hardness and microstructure in a commercial Cu–2.5Ni–0.6Si alloy (in wt%) after processing using High-Pressure Torsion (HPT) at room temperature with an imposed pressure of 6.0GPa and Equal-Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) at 423K using a channel angle of 135°. Hardness measurements, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used for microstructural evaluation and the results show a general consistency between these various techniques. The changes in the crystallite size and the dislocation structure as a function of the number of HPT revolutions and ECAP passes are discussed and compared with the results of the TEM observations. The detailed microstructural observations show a gradual evolution with increasing numbers of revolutions and passes with a saturation after 3 turns of HPT but with no saturation attained in ECAP even after 12 passes because of the lower imposed strain.

Microstructures, strengthening mechanisms and fracture behavior of Cu–Ag alloys processed by high-pressure torsion

Disks of a eutectic Cu–Ag alloy were processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) up to 20 revolutions to reveal the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties. Both the Cu and Ag phases were thinned continuously with increasing numbers of revolutions. After 20 revolutions, the alternating Cu and Ag phases were significantly refined and became fibrous with dimensions as thin as 5 nm. The strain hardening behavior of the Cu–Ag alloy was characterized after different numbers of HPT revolutions, and a saturation microhardness was attained. It is shown that the tensile fracture mode changed from necking to fully brittle shearing with increasing numbers of revolutions, and some shear offsets with sizes of ∼5–20 μm were observed on the fracture surfaces. Based on the abnormal saturation microhardness value of the eutectic alloy, the strengthening mechanisms of various Cu–Ag alloys are discussed.

Three-dimensional shear-strain patterns induced by high-pressure torsion and their impact on hardness evolution

The shear strain imposed on austenite/ferrite duplex stainless steel discs at different stages of high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing was imaged in plan-view and cross-section using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The effect of the shear strain was correlated to the hardness evolution of the discs. The shear-strain patterns are complex and are different on the top and bottom surfaces of the discs. A double-swirl pattern emerged on the top surface in the early stages of HPT. These two centres of the swirl moved towards the centre of the disc as the numbers of HPT revolutions was increased and ultimately the double-swirl evolved into a single-swirl. Less regular shear-strain patterns were observed on the bottom surfaces of the discs. Multiple ring-like patterns with mirror symmetry over the central axes of the discs were visible from cross-sectional observations. Nanoindentation testing on the two surfaces and a cross-section of HPT discs showed that the hardness is insensitive to specific shear-strain patterns, but is closely related to the widths of the austenite and ferrite phase domains. Late in the deformation process, the hardness in the interior of an HPT disc may be higher than at either of the disc surfaces because of the development of finer microstructural phase distributions.

Strain softening in nanocrystalline Ni–Fe alloy induced by large HPT revolutions

The influence of strain on the hardness of an electrochemically deposited nanocrystalline Ni–20 wt.% Fe alloy processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) for 20 and 30 revolutions was investigated. Strain softening followed by a stable hardness value was observed. Structural investigations revealed that, while dislocation density was important, continuous grain growth played a major role in the strain softening. The stable hardness indicates that an equilibrium structure was achieved, supporting a dynamic balance between deformation-induced grain growth and grain refinement and between deformation-induced dislocation generation and dislocation annihilation.

Evolution of defects in copper deformed by high-pressure torsion

Lattice defects in Cu deformed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) were investigated by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) combined with transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Vicker’s microhardness (HV) measurements. The evolution of the microstructure during HPT processing was studied on samples subjected to various numbers of HPT revolutions using pressures of 2 and 4 GPa. Since strain in torsion deformation increases with the radial distance from the center of rotation, one can expect a non-uniform microstructure across the sample diameter. To examine this, HV was measured at various distances from the center of the HPT-deformed sample and the microstructure at the center was compared with that at the periphery. It was found that HPT-deformed Cu contains a high density of dislocations and also small vacancy clusters formed by the agglomeration of deformation-induced vacancies. The center of the sample exhibits coarser grains, a slightly lower density of dislocations and smaller vacancy clusters compared to the periphery. The dislocation density and concentration of vacancy clusters were evaluated from the combination of the PAS and XRD results. The theoretically estimated concentration of deformation-induced vacancies is of an order of magnitude comparable to that determined in experiment.

Microstructure evolution of CuZr polycrystals processed by high-pressure torsion

The microstructure evolution of extruded Cu–0.18 wt% Zr polycrystals processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature at the pressure of 4 GPa and the different number of the HPT revolutions (i.e. different strain) was investigated using the combination of the electron back-scatter diffraction, microhardness measurements and the X-ray diffraction. A significant transition from the inhomogeneous microstructure after few HPT revolutions into the homogeneous equiaxed microstructure with increasing number of HPT rotations was observed. HPT straining leads to the grain size refinement by a factor more than 100 after the 25 HPT revolutions. Moreover, the EBSD revealed an increase in the fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) with increasing HPT straining reaching the value of 70% after 25 revolutions. Additionally, a slight increase of the twin-related CSL Σ3 grain boundaries occurred during the microstructure refinement. The microhardness measurements confirmed the billet radial inhomogeneity at early stages of the HPT straining, whereas with increasing number of the HPT rotations, causing the specimen fragmentation and homogenization, the microhardness values increased. The average crystallite size and the average dislocation density in individual specimens determined by the XRD diffraction were in the range of approximately 100–200 nm and 2 × 1015 m−2, respectively. Moreover, XRD measurements confirmed the absence of residual stresses in all specimens.

Evaluating the influence of pressure and torsional strain on processing by high-pressure torsion

Tests were conducted on an Al-6061 alloy to evaluate the separate effects of the applied pressure and the torsional straining in processing by high-pressure torsion (HPT). The values of the Vickers microhardness were measured after processing and plotted both linearly across the diameters of the disks and as three-dimensional representations. The measurements show that the applied pressure increases the hardness in the absence of torsional straining. In the presence of a pressure and torsional straining, the hardness values are high at the edges of the disk but lower in the central region. There is a gradual evolution toward a hardness homogeneity with increasing numbers of HPT revolutions. The hardness values at the edges of the disks are reasonably independent of the applied pressure but the extent of this region of high hardness depends upon both the applied pressure and the numbers of turns in the HPT processing.