An investigation of the properties of an Al-Mg-Li-Zr alloy after equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular (ECA) pressing is a procedure in which a high plastic strain is introduced into a material in order to produce an ultra-fine grain size. Experiments were conducted to investigate the properties of an Al-5.5% Mg-2.2% Li-0.12% Zr alloy, having an initial grain size of ∼400 μm, which was subjected to ECA pressing at 673 K to a true plastic strain of ∼3.7. This material contained grains and sub-grains with an average size of the order of 1 μm and with a structure which was reasonably stable up to temperatures of ∼700 K. As a result of this structural stability, the experiments demonstrate the feasibility of attaining high tensile ductility in this alloy at elevated temperatures.