EBSD and DTA characterization of A356 alloy deformed by ECAP during reheating and partial re-melting

Recrystallization and partial re-melting processes have been developed for producing semi-solid feedstock in a solid state in which a globular microstructure is obtained by plastic deformation followed by reheating. In this research, to induce strain, a cast- and solution-treated Aluminum A356 (7 wt pct Si) alloy was subjected to a repetitive equal channel angular pressing process using a 90 deg die, up to a total accumulated strain of approximately 8 in route A (increasing strain through a sequence of passes with no rotation of the sample after each pass) at ambient temperature. The microstructural evolutions of deformed and reheated materials were studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron back-scattered diffraction analysis. In addition, the influences of pre-deformation on the recrystallization mechanism and liquid formation of A356 alloy were presented and discussed. The results are also supported by differential thermal analysis experiments. Evaluation of the observations indicated that the average cell boundary misorientation increased with increasing strain, so this increased misorientation accelerated the mobility of boundaries and recrystallization kinetics. Therefore, the recrystallization mechanism and kinetics affected by deformation, reheating condition, and intrinsic material properties determined the particle size in the semi-solid state.