In this study, the layered structures of immiscible Fe and Cu metals were employed to investigate the interface evolution through solid-state mixing. The pure Fe and Cu powders were cold-consolidated by high-pressure torsion (HPT) to fabricate a layered Cu-Fe-Cu structure. The microstructural evolutions and flow of immiscible Fe and Cu metals were investigated following different iterations of HPT processing. The results indicate that the HPTprocessed sample following four iterations showed a sharp chemical boundary between the Fe and Cu layers. In addition, the Cu powders exhibited perfect consolidation through HPT processing. However, the Fe layer contained many microcracks. After 20 iterations of HPT, the shear strain generated by HPT produced interface instability, which caused the initial layered structure to disappear.

In this paper, rapid solidified Mg-4.3Zn-0.7Y (at.%) alloy powders were prepared using an inert gas atomizer, followed by a severe plastic deformation technique of high pressure torsion (HPT) for consolidation of the powders. The gas atomized powders were almost spherical in shape, and grain size was as fine as less than due to rapid solidification. Plastic deformation responses during HPT were simulated using the finite element method, which shows in good agreement with the analytical solutions of a strain expression in torsion. Varying the HPT processing temperature from ambient to 473 K, the behavior of powder consolidation, matrix microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the compacts was investigated. The gas atomized powders were deformed plastically as well as fully densified, resulting in effective grain size refinements and enhanced microhardness values.

Bulk nanostructured metallic materials are generally synthesized by bottom-up processing which starts from powders for assembling bulk materials. In this study, the bottom-up powder metallurgy and High Pressure Torsion (HPT) approaches were combined to achieve both full density and grain refinement at the same time. After the HPT process at 473K, the disk samples reached a steady state condition when the microstructure and properties no longer evolve, and equilibrium boundaries with high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) were dominant. The well dispersed alumina particles played important role of obstacles to dislocation glide and to grain growth, and thus, reduced the grain size at elevated temperature. The small grain size with HAGBs resulted in high strength and good ductility.