The paper gives an introduction to nanostructuring techniques used for industrial fabrication of bulk nanocrystalline metals – basic
materials utilized in shaping nanoscale structures. Nanostructured metals, called nanometals, can be produced by severe plastic deformation (SPD). We give an expert coverage of current achievements in all important SPD methods and present future industry developments and research directions including both batch and continuous processes. In the laboratories of both WUT and UOS we have developed industry standard equipment and machinery for nanometals processing. Utilizing the latest examples from our research, we provide a concise introduction to the field of mass production of nanometals for nanotechnology.
Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) was used as a technique for severe plastic deformation (SPD) on Al alloy AA3004. This technique produced fully dense materials of refined grain structure to sub-micrometer dimensions and advanced mechanical properties. The ECAP processing of samples was conducted as 1 to 4 passes through the die at room temperature. We present the results of the studied homogeneity evolution with the ECAP treatment. Furthermore, a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used for examination of the microstructure changes in samples undergone from 1 to 4 passes. The microhardness-HV increased upon each ECAP pass. The resulting micro-hardness evolution was attributed to crystalline microstructure modifications, such as the d-spacing (studied by X-ray Diffraction-XRD) depending on the number of ECAP pressings. The microcrystalline changes (grain refining evaluated from the Scanning Electron Microscopy – SEM images) were found to be related to the HV, following the Hall-Petch equation.