Effects of passes on equal channel angular pressing of 6061 aluminium alloy

Abstract

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is one of severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques that gives a high level of strain and eventually results in ultrafine-grained structure. This research aims to study the effects of passes on equal channel angular pressing of 6061 aluminium alloy. The samples were subjected to ECAP using route Bc with 1, 2, 3, and 4 passes. The processed samples were characterized using a variety of techniques: Optical Microscopy (OM); Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX); and Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD). The results showed that ECAP had a large influence on misorientation and size of grains but little effects on precipitates. The 4-pass ECAP led to a high fraction of low-angle boundaries and led to a nearly 97% increase of hardness. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.