Effect of the grain refinement via severe plastic deformation on strength properties and deformation behavior of an A16061 alloy at room and cryogenic temperatures

A coarse-grained (CG) A16061 alloy after solution treatment is subjected to high pressure torsion at room temperature resulting in the formation of a homogeneous ultra-fine grained (UFG) microstructure with average grain size of 170 nm. Tensile tests are performed at room and liquid nitrogen temperatures for both CG and UFG conditions. Analysis of the surface relief of the tested specimens is performed. The effect of microstructure on the mechanical properties and on the deformation behavior of the material is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.