Enhanced ductility in an Al-Mg2Si in situ composite processed by ECAP using a modified BC route

A modified B-C route, noted as BC-m, was designed and employed to process an Al-Mg2Si composite in an effort to improve the ductility of the composite. The modification was implemented to improve the effectiveness of particle redistribution of the conventional B-C route while maintaining its high grain refinement efficiency. The experimental results demonstrated that route BC-m was strongly effective in redistributing particles while maintaining a comparable microstructural refinement efficiency relative to route B-C, which led to an increase in ultimate tensile strength and much higher ductility in the composite. Additionally, the use of route B-C resulted in higher yield strength because of its stronger work-hardening effect compared to route BC-m. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.