Grain boundary sliding in ultrafine grained aluminum under tension at room temperature

Deformation mechanisms occurring by plastic flow of ultrafine grained aluminum processed by equal channel angular pressing at room temperature have been investigated using deformation relief on the pre-polished surface of the sample tested. The deformation behavior and the offsetting of marker lines suggest the development of grain boundary sliding in addition to intragrain dislocation slip. The contribution of grain boundary sliding to the overall deformation calculated using displacement of grains relative to each other was found to reach 24%.