Mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of ultrafine grained zircaloy-4 processed through multiaxial forging at cryogenic temperature

The mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of zircaloy-4 subjected to cumulative strains of 1.48, 2.96, 4.44 and 5.91 through multiaxial forging (MAF) at cryogenic temperature (77 K) were investigated. The mechanical properties of the MAF treated alloy were measured through universal tensile testing and Vickers hardness testing equipment. The zircaloy-4 deformed up to a cumulative strain of 5.91 showed improvement in both ultimate tensile strength and hardness from 474 MPa to 717 MPa and from HV 190 to HV 238, respectively, as compared with the as-received alloy. However, there was a noticeable decrement in ductility (from 18% to 3.5%) due to the low strain hardening ability of deformed zircaloy-4. The improvement in strength and hardness of the deformed alloy is attributed to the grain size effect and higher dislocation density generated during multiaxial forging. The microstructural evolutions of deformed samples were characterized by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The evolved microstructure at a cumulative strain of 5.91 obtained after MAF up to 12 cycles depicted the formation of ultrafine grains with an average size of 150-250 nm.