Performance Analysis of Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) on Al-Mg Alloy at Varied Temperatures
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The application of severe plastic deformation (SPD)techniques to refine the microstructure and enhance the mechanical properties of metallic materials presents a promising avenue for advancements in materials science. Amongst the several SPD techniques, the high pressure torsion (HPT) and the equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) are the most explored. Equal angular channel pressing (ECAP) is a severe plastic deformation technique in which billet is passed through a die at a specific rate and undergoes shear deformation before coming out. ECAP which stands out as a promising and cost-effective technique for processing various materials was performed on Al-Mg alloys at varied temperatures. In this study, Al-Mg alloy samples were ECAP processed at temperatures of 90, 100, 120, 140 and 150°C for four (4) ECAP passes. Microstructural examination and mechanical property assessment of ECAP processed billets was performed. The mechanical property assessments of the ECAPed processed billets showed a notable increase in both Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and Yield strength (YS) of the alloy. At 90 °C temperature, the YS and UTS increased from 223 and 319 MPa to 271 and 387 MPa respectively. Similarly, an upward trend occurred at 100, 120, 140 and 150 °C. However, there was a significant reduction in percentage elongation at all temperatures with values 7.0 to 3.6 (90 °C), 7.7 to 3.3 (100 °C), 6.9 to 3.2 (120 °C), 6.7 to 3.1 (140 °C) and 6.5 to 3.0 (150 °C). The microstructure of the extruded samples revealed the presence of blow holes and the sizes of individual grains could not be clearly distinguished at the different temperatures for the first pass. However, as the number of ECAP passes increased, a notable increase in the quantity of shear bands is revealed. Also, grains displayed elongations aligning parallel to transverse directions and after 4 passes, a significant refinement occurred. ECAP was found to be a viable method for improving the mechanical properties and refining the grain size of Al-Mg alloys.
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