Microstructural evolution during short heat treatment of constrained groove pressed Cu-5%Zn alloy

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is a widely used technique to obtain superior material properties specially mechanical properties. Constrained groove pressing (COP) is found to be the most attractive SPD technique for the deformation of sheets and plates. However, this technique results in microstructural inhomogeneity during processing. The microstructural inhomogeneity can be alleviated by employing a thermal cycle, which assists in controlled recovery and recrystallisation. The current work focuses on, the microstructure evolution of one pass as-deform CGP sample followed by a short heat-treated (SHT). A correlative imaging technique of transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the presence of dislocation cell structure in an as-deformed condition. The short heat treatment resulted in the transformation of the dislocation cell wall to high-angle boundaries, with a further increase in heat-treatment time resulting in grain growth.