Heterostructured Materials by Severe Plastic Deformation: Overview and Perspectives

Abstract

Heterostructured materials (HSMs) constitute heterogeneously distributed soft and hard zones with a mismatch in mechanical or physical properties of at least 100% between them. A synergistic effect resulting from the interactive coupling between the heterogeneous zones surpasses the properties predicted by the rule of mixtures. Therefore, the mechanical or physical properties of HSMs are not achievable by their homogeneous counterparts. HSM production commonly requires plastic deformation to refine the microstructure and subsequent partial recrystallization heat-treatments to obtain heterogeneous distributions of grain size, texture, or defect density. Other routes are by applying surface plastic deformation or by stacking layers with a high property mismatch between them. All of those routes can be achieved by severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques. This overview focuses on describing the fundamentals of HSMs produced by SPD. A critical description of the physics of SPD and HSMs, as well as the factors influencing their microstructural evolution, perspectives, and outstanding issues, are included. A critical comparison of the strength–ductility relationship in HSMs produced by different SPD techniques is also included to guide upcoming research. This overview is intended to serve as a basis for understanding and designing future HSMs produced by SPD.

Fig. 1 SPD-based thermo-mechanical route and microstructural evolution to produce HSMs with low stacking fault energy (SFE) or short-range order (SRO).