Effect of cryo groove rolling followed by warm rolling (CGW) on the mechanical properties of 5052 Al alloy

The influence of cryo groove rolling followed by warm rolling (CGW) on the mechanical behavior of AA 5052 has been investigated in the present study. The solution-treated (ST) Al alloys were subjected to cryo groove rolling (CGR) followed by warm rolling to a true strain of 2.3 at different temperatures. The CGR samples rolled at 175 degrees C show improved strength (328 MPa) and hardness (131 Hv) with 4.1% ductility, as compared to the ST alloy. It was due to the formation of a duplex microstructure consisting of both elongated and equiaxed sub-grains. Apart from this, the formation of fine precipitates along with deformed or broken impurity phase particles is also responsible for enhancement in the tensile strength of CGW samples. Furthermore, the deformed (CGW) material was subjected to post-annealing treatment between temperatures of 180 and 300 degrees C for one hour to study its effect on the mechanical behavior of the alloy. The post-deformation annealed samples, which possess coarser grains along with ultrafine grains, are responsible for increasing ductility (24.7%) and fracture toughness (115.8 kJ/m(2)). The microstructural characterization of the deformed material was performed through optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, SEM fractography, and TEM and it was correlated with the tensile and fracture characteristics of the alloy.