Dynamic Processes for Nanostructure Development in Cu after Severe Cryogenic Rolling Deformation

The dynamic grain refinement behavior upon severe plastic deformation has been systematically studied in commercial purity copper that was heavily cold rolled to large deformations at cryogenic temperatures. The low-temperature rolling allows the accumulation of extraordinarily high densities of dislocations in Cu, enabling an investigation of the various dynamic recrystallization phenomena upon further deformation. The eventual steady-state grain sizes achieved, as well as the dynamic recrystallization mechanisms, are studied using controlled deformation tests combined with transmission electron microscopy. The dominant mechanisms observed to contribute to grain refinement in Cu include the classical migration dynamic recrystallization process, the deformation twinning, as well as the continuous dynamic recrystallization via progressive lattice rotation upon deformation to extremely large strains. The strain rate and deformation temperature have strong effects on the operative mechanisms and the grain sizes achieved in the ultrafine and nanocrystalline regimes.