Effect of extrusion-ECA integrated large strain technology on microstructure and properties of 7075 aluminum alloy

In recent years, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) which is a new technology to produce ultrafine grained materials by plastic deformation has attracted special attention. In this paper, the effects of extrusion-ECA integrated large strain technology on the structure and properties of 7075 aluminum alloys were studied by means of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), hardness test, tensile test. The results show that the grain size of 7075 aluminium alloys processed by extrusion-ECA integrated large strain technology is further refined, the average grain size decreases from 8.53 to 6.55 μm. The extrusion-ECA integrated large strain technique also increases the percentage of the high-angle grain boundary of the alloy. Although the strength of the alloy is reduced, the elongation is increased from 10.17 to 15.82%. In addition, extrusion-ECA integrated large strain technology could reduce the degree of solution aging strengthening of 7075 aluminium alloys, but the plasticity of the material is significantly improved.