Improving the comprehensive mechanical property of the rheo-extruded Al-Fe alloy by severe rolling deformation

Al-3Fe alloy was prepared by the method of continuous rheo-extrusion, and the effect of rolling deformation on the microstructure and the property of the rheo-extruded Al-3Fe alloy was studied by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and tensile test. The rheo-extruded pure Al was also prepared for comparison. The results showed that the rolling deformation could further refine the grain size of the rheo-extruded Al-Fe alloy, and reduce the size of the Al-Fe phase. Due to the present of nanosized and sub-micron sized Al3Fe phase, the strength of rheo-extruded Al-Fe alloy is significantly higher than that of rheo-extruded pure Al, and this advantage has been maintained during subsequently rolling deformation. Moreover, the strength and the elongation are simultaneously increased when the rolling reduction exceeds 60% for Al-Fe alloy and pure Al. Both of Al-Fe alloy and pure Al have the best comprehensive mechanical property when the rolling reduction reaches 90%. The main contribution is attributed to the grain refinement and the formation of high fraction substructure. Keywords: Al alloy, Rheo-extrusion, Deformation, Microstructure, Property