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An evaluation of the saturation hardness in an ultrafine-grained aluminum 7075 alloy processed using different techniques

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Abstract

A commercial Al-7075 alloy was processed by the severe plastic deformation (SPD) procedures of equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) and high-pressure torsion (HPT) and by a combination of these two techniques. The results show samples processed by a combination of ECAP and HPT have smaller grain sizes and higher saturation hardnesses than samples processed separately by ECAP or HPT. Microstructural observations reveal grain refinement after each SPD technique, and the minimum grain size was ~200 nm after processing by a combination of ECAP for eight passes and HPT for 20 turns. It is demonstrated that the saturation hardness is dependent upon the microstructure of the sample introduced in any processing step prior to the HPT processing.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation of the United States under Grant No. DMR-1160966 and in part by the European Research Council under ERC Grant Agreement No. 267464-SPDMETALS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1453, USA

    Shima Sabbaghianrad & Terence G. Langdon

  2. Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    Terence G. Langdon

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  1. Shima Sabbaghianrad
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  2. Terence G. Langdon
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Correspondence to Terence G. Langdon.

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Sabbaghianrad, S., Langdon, T.G. An evaluation of the saturation hardness in an ultrafine-grained aluminum 7075 alloy processed using different techniques. J Mater Sci 50, 4357–4365 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-8989-x

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