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The research presented in this paper concerns the influence of the rate of plastic deformation generated directly in the processes of severe plastic deformations on the microstructure and properties of three metals: copper, iron and zinc. The equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) method was used, and it was performed at a low plastic deformation rate of ∼ 0.04 s−1. The high plastic strain rate was obtained using the hydrostatic extrusion (HE) method with the deformation rate at the level of ∼ 170 s−1. For all three tested materials different characteristic effects were demonstrated at the applied deformation rates. The smallest differences in the mechanical properties were observed in copper, despite the dynamic recrystallization processes that occurred in the HE process. In Armco iron samples, dynamic recovery processes in the range of high plastic deformation rates resulted in lower mechanical properties. The most significant effects were obtained for pure zinc, where, regardless of the method used, the microstructure was clearly transformed into bimodal after the ECAP process, and homogenized and refined after the HE process. After the HE process, the material was transformed from a brittle state to a plastic state and the highest mechanical properties were obtained.

The methods of severe plastic deformation (SPD) of metals and metal alloys are very attractive due to the possibility of refinement of the grains to nanometric sizes, which facilitates obtaining high mechanical properties. This study investigated the influence of SPD in the process of hydrostatic extrusion (HE) on the anisotropy of the mechanical properties of the CuCrZr copper alloy. The method of HE leads to the formation of a characteristic microstructure in deformed materials, which can determine their potential applications. On the longitudinal sections of the extruded bars, a strong morphological texture is observed, manifested by elongated grains in the direction of extrusion. In the transverse direction, these grains are visible as equiaxed. The anisotropy of properties was mainly determined based on the analysis of the static mini-sample static tensile test and the dynamic impact test. The obtained results were correlated with microstructural observations. In the study, three different degrees of deformation were applied at the level necessary to refine the grain size to the ultrafine-grained level. Regardless of the applied degree of deformation, the effect of the formation of a strong morphological texture was demonstrated, as a result of which there is a clear difference between the mechanical properties depending on the test direction, both by the static and dynamic method. The obtained results allow for the identification of the characteristic structure formed during the HE process and the more effective use of the CuCrZr copper alloy in applications.