Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr Alloy of Heterogeneous Lamellar Structure Processed by High Pressure Torsion

Abstract:

The microstructures and mechanical properties of the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy processed by high pressure torsion (HPT) at 400 °C were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), and Instron testing machine. The results show that the grain boundaries and the secondary phases in the grains of deformed specimens are significantly broken and refined, and the width of precipitation-free zones at the grain boundaries narrows, which greatly improves the strength and plasticity of the deformed specimens. The grain orientation of the initial specimen is randomly distributed. When the strain is small, the grain size, grain orientation, and the local orientation difference of the specimen all present heterogeneous lamellar distribution. The deformed specimens of 0.5 turn exhibit the optimal mechanical properties due to the back stress strengthening effect caused by the heterogeneous lamellar structure during deformation.