Severe plastic deformation under high pressure for production of superplastic materials

Grain refinement is an important prerequisite for advent of superplasticity. In particular, as the grain size is smaller, the superplasticity appears at higher strain rates and lower temperatures. Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is a useful process for achieving significant grain refinement. This presentation shows that applicability of the SPD process is enhanced when it is operated under high pressure through high-pressure torsion (HPT) and high-pressure sliding (HPS). It is demonstrated that commercially available conventional alloys but less ductile alloys such as Mg alloys, age-hardenable high-strength Al alloys (A2024, A7075) and Ti alloys become superplastic after processing by HPT or HPS.