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Metal screw extrusion (MSE) is a continuous, solid-state forming method utilizing an inherently high degree of deformation to consolidate fragmented input materials into a solid bulk by breaking their oxide skins. Severe plastic deformation with equivalent strain in the range of 10–20 can be achieved depending on set process parameters. Rigorous mixing can be employed to form sophisticated materials like bulk composites, nanocomposites, particle-reinforced metals, and fine-grained materials. Furthermore, the inherent solid-state processing is well suited for recovery of difficult-to-recycle materials. A range of non-ferrous materials has been manufactured by MSE and further characterized in terms of microstructural evolution and mechanical and functional properties. Furthermore, MSE has been studied in terms of flow, accumulated strain, and environmental impact. The following review aims to critically highlight the existing work performed on MSE, compare it to existing and emerging technologies as well as explore future development and possible applications. MSE has the potential to be utilized for numerous commercial applications. To realize industrial use of MSE, key aspects of the process and the influence of processing parameters on the resulting product must be understood.

This paper presents an analysis of the test and simulation of the equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) of a commercial Al 6061-T6 alloy previously extruded. Special emphasis is given to the analysis and comparison of the simulated values and distribution of equivalent plastic strain with those calculated with analytical models across the height of the middle section of the deformed billet. The results reveal the limitations of the analytical models when the effects of the inner die corner and curvature of the outer wall on the material response during the test are considered for the ECAE device used in this work. Specifically, in the simulations performed in this work, the plastic deformation zone, far from being uniform, extends along with the height of the billet where, in particular, near the inner wall over the inlet and outlet channels, even in the central region of the billet, the equivalent plastic strain is not homogeneous or discontinuous, varying mainly due to the effect of the curvature of the outer channel.

The quantitative concentration of alloying elements in low-alloyed copper alloys is an important factor in forming electrical and mechanical characteristics. It is known that severe plastic deformation is accompanied by both a substantial refinement of the structure and changes in the kinetics of phase transformations during the deformation and the post-deformation thermal treatment. This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the Cu–0.2Cr and Cu–1.1Cr alloys subjected to equal-channel angular pressing at room temperature. The analysis was performed for the grain structure, solid solution, and second-phase particles using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray crystal analysis, and the small-angle diffraction method. It was found that the level of structure refinement and mechanical characteristics after equal-channel angular pressing was almost the same for both studied alloys. Post-deformation aging of the Cu–0.2Cr alloy leads to the development of polygonization and re-crystallization within it. The aging of the Cu–1.1Cr alloy shows a better thermal stability than that of the Cu–0.2Cr alloy. In the Cu–1.1Cr alloy, after aging, in comparison with Cu–0.2Cr, a denser-packed ensemble of fine particles with an average size of 54 ± 2 nm is formed. In this case, the average size of fragments is 270 ± 15 nm and the ultimate tensile strength reaches 485 MPa.

It is generally accepted that severe plastic deformation (SPD) has the ability to produce ultrafinegrained (UFG) and nanocrystalline materials in bulk. Recent developments in high pressure torsion (HPT) processes have led to the production of bimetallic composites using copper, aluminum or magnesium alloys. This article outlines a new approach to fabricate multilayered Ni-Ti nanocomposites by a patented SPD technique, namely, high speed high pressure torsion (HSHPT). The multilayered composite discs consist of Ni-Ti alloys of different composition: a shape memory alloy (SMA) Ti-rich, whose Mf > RT, and an SMA Ni-rich, whose Af < RT. The composites were designed to have 2 to 32 layers of both alloys. The layers were arranged in different sequences to improve the shape recovery on both heating and cooling of nickel-titanium alloys. The manufacturing process of Ni-Ti multilayers is explained in this work. The evolution of the microstructure was traced using optical, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes. The effectiveness of the bonding of the multilayered composites was investigated. The shape memory characteristics and the martensitic transition of the nickel-titanium nanocomposites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This method opens up new possibilities for designing various layered metal-matrix composites achieving the best combination of shape memory, deformability and tensile strength.

This work considers the development and the application of combined severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques to produce contact wire with an enhanced complex of physical, mechanical, and service properties used for high-speed railway lines. This type of processing can be used as an alternative to most conventional production methods, including rolling and drawing. The proposed technique is based on the combination of radial swaging and equal-channel angular pressing, bundled with the wire-forming process. Laboratory contact wire samples with an enhanced complex of physical, mechanical, and service properties were produced during physical experiments. The composition of processed alloy samples meets modern requirements for contact wires for high-speed railways. Ultimate tensile strength of 560 ± 20 MPa, electrical conductivity of 76 ± 2% IACS, and relative tensile elongation of 20 ± 2% are achieved through the formation of a band structure. Fragments of 300 ± 20 nm were formed inside strips with the precipitation of secondary phase particles of 20–100 nm along the fragment boundaries, mainly during the aging process.

In the present study, the wear behaviour of two aluminium alloys (AA-5754 and AA-5083) is analysed where these have been previously processed by severe plastic deformation (SPD) with equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). In order to achieve the objectives of this study, several disks made of these alloys are manufactured by isothermal forging from different initial states. The microstructures of the initial materials analysed in this study have different accumulated deformation levels. In order to compare the properties of the nanostructured materials with those which have not been ECAP-processed, several disks with a height of 6 mm and a diameter of 35 mm are manufactured from both aluminium alloys (that is, AA-5754 and AA-5083) isothermally forged at temperatures of 150 and 200 °C, respectively. These thus-manufactured disks are tested under a load of 0.6 kN, which is equivalent to a stress mean value of 18 MPa, and at a rotational speed of 200 rpm. In order to determine the wear values, the disks are weighed at the beginning, at 10,000 revolutions, at 50,000 revolutions and at 100,000 revolutions, and then the volume-loss values are calculated. This study was carried out using specific equipment, which may be considered to have a block-on-ring configuration, developed for testing in-service wear behaviour of mechanical components. From this, the wear coefficients for the two materials at different initial states are obtained. In addition, a comparison is made between the behaviour of the previously ECAP-processed aluminium alloys and those that are non-ECAP-processed. A methodology is proposed to determine wear coefficients for the aluminium alloys under consideration, which may be used to predict the wear behaviour. It is demonstrated that AA-5754 and AA-5083 aluminium alloys improve wear behaviour after the ECAP process compared to that obtained in non-ECAP-processed materials.

Among all recognized severe plastic deformation techniques, a new method, called the equal channel forward extrusion process, has been experimentally studied. It has been shown that this method has similar characteristics to other severe plastic deformation methods, and the potential of this new method was examined on the mechanical properties of commercial pure aluminum. The results indicate that approximate 121%, 56%, and 84% enhancements, at the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and Vickers micro-hardness measurement are, respectively, achieved after the fourth pass, in comparison with the annealed condition. The results of drop weight impact test showed that the increment of 26% at the impact force, and also decreases of 32%, 15%, and 4% at the deflection, impulse, and absorbed energy, are respectively attained for the fourth pass when compared to the annealed condition. Furthermore, the electron backscatter diffraction examination revealed that the average grain size of the final pass is about 480 nm.

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) can produce ultrafine grained (UFG) and nanocrystalline (NC) materials by imposing intense plastic strain. One of the many options for inducing large plastic strains is to pass the material through a torsional/twist extrusion. The high-strength materials fabricated by SPD has no limit in dimension, and they can even be applied to load-carrying structural materials. Even though the method is quite successful, the industrial transfer has been limited so far because of low production efficiency and high cost. To remedy such difficulties, a new torsional extrusion process called nonlinear twist extrusion (NLTE) is introduced in this study, which has been designed based on two principles; (1) linear arrangement of the production line and (2) effective die geometry resulting in higher and more homogeneous plastic strain evolution which would give better grain refinement. The initial computational study of the designed geometry for the new extrusion process is addressed in the current study. The obtained results are discussed in detail with respect to conventional extrusion process, which is referred to as linear twist extrusion (LTE). The method is expected to offer a great potential for industrial use.

An accumulative swaging and bundling technique is used to prepare composite wires made of Ti and an Al alloy. These wires show reasonable higher yield stresses than expected from the pure material flow curves. The additional strengthening in the composite is analyzed using nanoindentation measurements, tensile testings and investigations of the microstructure. In addition, these properties are analyzed in relation to the fracture surface of the mechanically tested wires. Additional strengthening due to the presence of phase boundaries could be verified. Indications for residual stresses are found that cause a global hardness gradient from the center to the wire rim. Finally, the yield stress of the wires are calculated based on local hardness measurements.

A Ti-AZ31 composite was severely plastically deformed by rotary swaging at room temperature up to a logarithmic deformation strain of 2.98. A value far beyond the forming limit of pure AZ31 when being equivalently deformed. It is observed, that the microstructure evolution in Mg-AZ31 is strongly influenced by twinning. At low strains the {̅1011} (10̅12) and the {̅1012} (10̅11) twin systems lead to fragmentation of the initial grains. Inside the primary twins, grain refinement takes place by dynamic recrystallization, dynamic recovery and twinning. These mechanisms lead to a final grain size of ≈1 μm, while a strong centered ring fibre texture is evolved.