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Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Processing of Bulk Nanocrystalline Metals at the US Army Research Laboratory
Published on: March 7, 2018
Improving the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-0.7Fe-0.4Mg-0.1Si-0.5Er Alloy by Equal Channel Angular
Xingchi He1, Fuyu Dong1, Yue Zhang1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, China.
Abstract:
The ECAP (equal channel angular pressing) technique plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall performance of aluminum alloys. In this study, ECAP was applied to a self-developed micro-alloyed Al-0.7Fe-0.4Mg-0.1Si-0.5Er aluminum alloy to investigate the strengthening effects of varying numbers of passes. The results show that after four ECAP passes, the alloy achieved a high tensile strength (208 MPa), yield strength (175.4 MPa), elongation after fracture (10.8%), and a relatively high electrical conductivity (57.1%IACS). The enhanced strength is primarily attributed to precipitation strengthening (σp), grain refinement strengthening (σgbs), and dislocation strengthening (σdis). The grain refinement is a result of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) induced by severe plastic deformation. This study demonstrates that ECAP enables a significant improvement in the mechanical properties (82.3%) of the alloy while causing only a marginal reduction (2.9%) in electrical conductivity. These findings provide both technological and theoretical support for the manufacturing of high-performance conductors and other lightweight electrical structural components.
