Skip to main content
Log in

Consolidation and Forging Methods for a Cryomilled Al Alloy

  • Published:
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The method used to consolidate a cryogenically ball-milled powder is critical to the retention of superior strength along with acceptable tensile ductility in the bulk product. In this study, gas-atomized Al 5083 powder was cryomilled, hot vacuum degassed, and consolidated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) or by quasi-isostatic (QI) forging to produce low-porosity billets. The billets were then forged, either at high strain rate (without a die) or quasi-isostatically, and subsequently hot rolled to produce three 6.5-mm-thick plates. Despite extended periods at elevated temperatures and differences between the consolidation/deformation methods, a similar predominantly ultrafine grain microstructure was obtained in all three plates. The plates possessed similar ultimate tensile strengths, about 50 pct greater than standard work-hardened Al 5083. However, in terms of fracture toughness, there were significant differences between the plates. Debonding at prior cryomilled powder particle surfaces was an important fracture mechanism for “HIPped” material, leading to low toughness for crack surfaces in the plane of the plate. This effect was minimized by the implementation of double QI forging, producing plate with good isotropic fracture toughness. The type of particle boundary deformation during forging and the influence of impurities appeared to be more important in determining fracture toughness than the presence of ∼10 vol pct coarser micron-sized grains.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. H.-J. Fecht: Nanostruct. Mater., 1995, vol. 6, pp. 33–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. C. Koch: J. Mater. Sci., 2007, vol. 42, pp. 1403–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. D.B. Witkin, E.J. Lavernia: Progr. Mater. Sci., 2006, vol. 51, pp. 1–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. I.E. Anderson, J.C. Foley: Surf. Interface Anal., 2001, vol. 31, pp. 599–608

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. D. Witkin, B.Q. Han, and E.J. Lavernia: Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2006, vol. 37A, pp. 185–94

  6. A.P. Newbery, T. Topping, B. Ahn, P. Pao, S.R. Nutt, and E.J. Lavernia: J. Mater. Proc. Technol., 2008, vol. 203, pp. 37–45

  7. A.P. Newbery, B. Ahn, P. Pao, S.R. Nutt, E.J. Lavernia: Adv. Mater. Res., 2007, vols. 29–30, pp. 21–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Aluminum: Properties and Physical Metallurgy, J.E. Hatch, ed., ASM INTERNATIONAL, Materials Park, OH, 1984

  9. A.P. Newbery, S.R. Nutt, E.J. Lavernia: JOM, 2006, vol. 58, pp. 56–61

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Test Method for Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness of Metallic Materials, ASTM Standard, ASTM INTERNATIONAL, West Conshohocken, PA, 2005

  11. A.P. Newbery: SSM Program Report (Dec.)—Novel Multifunctional Lightweight Systems using Multi-Scale Materials: From the Nanoscale to the Mesoscale, University of California, Davis, CA, 2006

    Google Scholar 

  12. D. Witkin, E.J. Lavernia: in Processing and Properties of Structural Nanomaterials, L.L. Shaw, C. Suryanarayana, R.S. Mishra, eds., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 2003, pp. 117–24

    Google Scholar 

  13. H.V. Atkinson, S. Davies: Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2000, vol. 31A, pp. 2981–3000

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. B.Q. Han, Z. Lee, D. Witkin, S. Nutt, E.J. Lavernia: Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2005, vol. 36A, pp. 957–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. P.S. Pao, H.N. Jones, C.R. Feng, D.B. Witkin, and E.J. Lavernia: in Ultrafine Grained Materials IV, San Antonio, TX, 2006, Y.T. Zhu, ed., TMS, Warrendale, PA, 1996, pp. 331–36

Download references

Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was gratefully received from the Office of Naval Research (Contract No. N00014-03-C-0163). The authors also thank Feng Tang, previously of UC Davis, for the scanning electron micrograph shown in Figure 3, and Kevin Doherty and Ernie Chin of the Army Research Laboratory for the donation of the standard Al 5083-H131 plate.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A.P. Newbery.

Additional information

Manuscript submitted August 18, 2007.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Newbery, A., Ahn, B., Hayes, R. et al. Consolidation and Forging Methods for a Cryomilled Al Alloy. Metall Mater Trans A 39, 2193–2205 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-008-9554-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-008-9554-x

Keywords

Navigation