Characterization of microstructure and deformation texture during equal channel Angular pressing of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the microstructure and texture that develops during equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). AI-7075 alloy was subjected to 4 passes of ECAP deformation at room temperature by using Route B-C and A. The texture was investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) in ED-plane (plane perpendicular to extrusion direction) as well as TD-plane (plane parallel to extrusion direction). The texture calculation by Labotex software reveals that in 1 pass ECAPed specimens, C-0 is the strongest texture component, while after 4 passes B-0/B-0', and A(10)* are the strongest components in route A and B-C, respectively, and also the results in both TD (z) and ED (x) planes are in good agreement. Texture strengthening was observed after the initial pass but there was evidence for texture weakening after 4 passes. Microstructure investigation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that ultrafine-grained materials with grain size less than 500 nm could be obtained after 4 passes of ECAP process. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.