On the microstructure and texture of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy after severe plastic deformation by ECAP

• The microstructure consisted of elongated subgrains aligned along the shear direction.
• The subgrains underwent a strong refinement down to 0.7 μm for the major spacing.
• The texture was characterized by typical ECAP shear texture.
• A net strengthening and stabilization of the B/B̅ texture components was observed.
• ECAP processing induced a significant enhancement of the micro-hardness up to 250%.

Samples of a commercial Cu-1Cr-0.1Zr (wt.%) alloy were subjected to severe plastic deformation at room temperature using equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) up to 16 passes via   route Bc. The microstructure and texture of the processed samples were analyzed through electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Most of the grains were more or less inclined in the direction of shearing (45° from the extrusion direction) and substantially refined. The deformation structure evolved from elongated grains to a duplex equiaxed-elongated microstructure upon straining. The fraction of high angle boundaries gradually increased with the number of passes up to 70%. The texture after ECAP was mainly of ECAP shear type whose components shifted slightly from their ideal positions. A net strengthening and stabilization of the B/B̅components were observed.