Creep behavior of metals processed by equal-channel angular pressing

The processing of metals by equal-channel angular pressing provides the capability of refining the grain size to the submicrometer or nanometer level. It is shown that this will influence the high temperature creep properties provided the ultrafine grains are reasonably stable at elevated temperatures. Examples are presented for high-purity aluminum where grain growth occurs easily and some aluminum-based alloys where grain growth is restricted through the presence of scandium additions. It is relatively easy to depict the creep behavior by plotting deformation mechanism maps. Two examples of these maps are presented for the Pb-62% Sn eutectic alloy and high-purity aluminum.