Microstructure quantification of ultrafine grained pure copper fabricated by simple shear extrusion (SSE) technique

In the present paper commercially pure copper was processed by simple shear extrusion (SSE) technique up to 12 passes using the so-called route C. For SSE processing an appropriate die with a linear die profile was designed and constructed. Effect of SSE passes on isotropy and uniformity of microstructures are focused. Electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD) was used to evaluate the microstructure of the deformed samples in three orthogonal planes. To investigate the microstructural uniformity EBSD maps were taken from center to periphery of the extrusion direction plane (ED-plane) samples. Significant evolution in grain refinement was achieved down to sub-micron grain size in all planes. Hardness measurements show a considerable increase in hardness of the material after the processing, which confirms the microstructural evolutions. EBSD scans revealed a homogeneous ultrafine grained microstructure after 12 passes. Micro-shear bands were found as potential sites for accelerating the formation of new grains by fragmentation of the initial grains. The total frequency of coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries including Σ3 boundaries increased by the increasing of SSE passes. The higher fraction of low to high angle grain boundaries of SSE compared to equal channel angular pressing is an evidence for the cyclic behavior of SSE technique.