Effect of severe plastic deformation on the formation of the nanocrystalline structure and the aging of the multicomponent aluminum-lithium alloy with small additions of Sc and Mg

Effect of severe plastic deformation and subsequent low-temperature annealing on the structural and phase transformations, which are realized in the alloy 1450 on the base of the Al-Li-Cu-Zr system with additives of Sc and Mg has been studied by electron microscopy. The possibility of obtaining a nanocrystalline recrystallized structure in the alloy investigated has been established. It has been shown that its uniformity and dispersiveness depend on the degree of deformation and on the regime of annealing and are determined by the density distribution of particles that are precipitated upon the decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution. The transition of the alloy from microcrystalline to submicrocrystalline or nanocrystalline state changes its phase composition, morphology, and mechanism of nucleation of the precipitated phases and makes it possible to minimize structural factors that exert negative effect on the alloy plasticity.