The effect of the increase in crystalline defects in the structure generated by high-pressure torsion (HPT) on the corrosion behavior of metallic materials is not well understood. This report evaluates the influence of HPT on the corrosion behavior of a solution treated Al-3wt% Mg-0.2wt% Sc alloy in a 3.5 wt./v.% NaCl solution. The electrochemical behavior of the alloy was evaluated using cyclic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Mott Schottky, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and chronoamperometry testing. The passive current density decreased after HPT processing, indicating a more protective oxide layer was formed on the surface of the HPT-processed alloy. Mott Schottky analysis confirmed the higher protection efficiency of the passive layer on the HPT-processed alloy. The film formed in the solution-treated alloy was a p-type and an n-type semiconductor while the alloy processed by HPT exhibited only an n-type semiconductor behavior. EIS showed that corrosion resistance in a saline medium increased with HPT processing.

An Al-3%Mg-0.2%Sc alloy was solution treated and subjected to 10 turns of high-pressure torsion (HPT). Thereafter, the HPT-processed material was annealed for 1 hour at temperatures ranging from 423 to 773 K and its mechanical properties and microstructural evolution were examined using microhardness measurements and EBSD analysis. The results demonstrate that the Al-Mg-Sc alloy exhibits an average microhardness of ~190 Hv and an average grain size of ~140 nm immediately after HPT processing and also after further annealing at 423 K. Conversely, it is shown that annealing at temperatures above 473 K leads to a substantial decrease in the hardness values as well as a sharp increase in the grain size of the material previously processed by HPT. In addition, detailed EBSD analysis revealed the formation of a bi-modal distribution of grains after annealing at temperatures from 623 to 773 K, and this becomes more uniform with increasing temperatures.

High pressure torsion provides an opportunity to process materials with low formability such as magnesium at room temperature. The present work shows the microstructure evolution in commercially pure magnesium processed using a pressure of 6.0 GPa up to 10 turns of rotation. The microstructure evolution is evaluated using electron microscopy and the hardness is determined using dynamic hardness testing. The results show that the grain refinement mechanism in this material differs from materials with b.c.c. and f.c.c. structures. The mechanism of grain refinement observed at high temperatures also applies at room temperature. The hardness distribution is heterogeneous along the longitudinal section of the discs and is not affected by the amount of deformation imposed to the material.

High-pressure torsion was used to process grade 2 titanium to 10 turns using different pressures up to a maximum of 8 GPa. X ray diffraction showed that the as-received material and the material processed at pressures of 2 GPa and 4 GPa were single phase but the material processed at 8 GPa contained both the h.c.p. and the simple hexagonal ω-phase. Nanoindentation was used to determine the mechanical behavior and the results show a pronounced increase in hardness due both to the severe plastic deformation processing and to the phase transformation at the highest pressure. A maximum hardness of ~4.7 GPa was attained.

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) is widely recognized as an effective method for processing ultrafine-grained and even nanostructured materials. Important details on processes occurring in the die intersections can be obtained by mapping the microhardness and EBSD microstructures in partially-pressed aluminum and copper through the 90º die of ECAP. Precise measurements were made using grids of partially-pressed Al and Cu and detailed color maps were plotted and compared with EBSD maps. A narrow region along the bisector of two channels reflects altering in microhardness level of the material subjected to simple shear. The microstructural evolution suggests significant refining of the grain structure but there is noticeable inhomogeneity in the microhardness and microstructure for both materials. Factors contributing to the inhomogeneous hardness distribution include the coarse initial grain size, and inhomogeneous deformation across the plane of the die channel intersection due to die wall friction and the formation of a dead zone at the outer corner.

Magnesium alloys often exhibit cracking and segmentation after equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) at room temperature. With torsion shear deformation and a hydrostatic stress, high-pressure torsion (HPT) has an advantage over ECAP in the processing of hard-to-deform materials like magnesium alloys at room temperature. In this report, HPT was used on extruded AZ31 Mg alloy at temperatures of 296, 373 and 473 K for 1 and 5 turns. After HPT processing, the hcp crystal c-axis rotated from the disc (r,θ) plane towards the torsion axis. The angle between the c-axis and the torsion axis (Φ) has a relationship with the HPT processing temperature. It was found that the c-axis was 10º from the torsion axis at 296 and 373 K but 5º from the torsion axis at 473 K. The activity of the basal <a> slip and the twinning exert significant contributions to the deformation. Microstructural features such as the grain size and grain size distributions were examined and correlated with the mechanical properties through the microhardness values.

High-Pressure Torsion (HPT) has attracted significant attention in recent years as an effective technique to process ultrafine and nanostructured materials. The hydrostatic pressure developed during processing prevents the occurrence of cracks and the low thickness to diameter ratio provides the opportunity for developing high strains at low numbers of rotations. The present work analyses the plastic flow during HPT. Experimental results and computer modeling are used to describe heterogeneous plastic flow. It is shown that variations in structure, hardness and in the distribution of strain are observed along the disc thickness. The sources of these heterogeneities are discussed.

When polycrystalline materials are tested in tension at elevated temperatures, the flow mechanisms depend upon various parameters including the temperature of testing, the applied stress and the material grain size. The plotting of deformation mechanism maps is a procedure used widely in displaying and interpreting the creep properties of conventional coarse-grained metals but there have been few attempts to date to use this same procedure for ultrafine-grained and nanocrystalline materials produced through the application of severe plastic deformation (SPD). This report examines the potential for using deformation mechanism mapping for materials processed by SPD and presents examples for materials processed using equal-channel angular pressing and high-pressure torsion.