EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS ON MICROHARDNESS OF EQUAL CHANNEL ANGULAR PRESSED ALUMINUM ALLOYS AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is a severe plastic deformation technique for producing ultra fine grain structures in submicron level by introducing a large amount of shear strain into the materials without changing the billet shape or dimensions. In the present work, AA7075 aluminum alloys are processed through ECAP dies with various channel angles at different temperatures. After deformation, all the pressed samples are subjected to Vickers micro hardness test. The results showed improved surface behavior of the ultra-fine grained aluminum alloy that is developed. The results are compared with the already existing results available on pure aluminium. This research provides an opportunity to examine the significance of the ECAP process for aluminum alloys on surface hardness