Wrought aluminium–magnesium alloys subjected to SPD processing

Abstract

The article presents the influence of stationary plastic deformation, using the equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) method, on the structure and properties of an aluminium alloy with 3 % magnesium content. In order to investigate changes in the structure and substructure, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used. The influence of plastic deformation was determined by hardness measurement using the Vickers method. The results of the investigation show that, even after one ECAP, it is possible to decrease grain size to a range of 30 – 70 nm, and increase the mechanical properties by nearly 90 %. It was also found that the additional twist angle of the die has a minor effect on the properties and structure of the investigated alloy.