Assessment of homogeneity of the shear-strain pattern in Al–7 wt%Si casting alloy processed by high-pressure torsion

An as-cast Al–7 wt%Si alloy was subjected to processing by high-pressure torsion (HPT) at room temperature, through 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 5 turns at a pressure of 6 GPa and two rotation speeds, 0.1 and 1 rpm. Vickers microhardness was measured along diameters of HPT disk surfaces. The final hardness values were higher than in the initial as-cast condition and, unexpectedly, nearly constant under all different processing conditions, and along the disk diameter. The microstructure was characterised by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The as-cast microstructure comprises equiaxed primary α dendrite cells embedded in the Al–Si eutectic constituent. The morphology and distribution of the eutectic constituent in the HPT processed materials is used to delineate the shear strain, which was analysed in the cross-section planes of the disks. A high degree of homogeneity in the imposed shear strain throughout the samples was observed, being congruent with the ideal rigid-body torsion. In addition, the high compressive pressure applied, causing compressive strain prior to the torsional strain, is responsible for the deformation-induced precipitation of small Si particles and for the (sub)grain refinement in the primary Al constituent. The role of torsional strain is that of increasing monothonically the redistribution of the eutectic silicon and the misorientation of the (sub)grains.