March 11, 2008 —
Professor Terence G. Langdon's recent work with graduate student Roberto Figueiredo has been selected for inclusion in the March issue of "Materials Views" which reports new "hot topics" in the Materials Science area. 




Superplastic metals have typical grain sizes of around 3 to 5 μm and can be further deformed to reduce these grain sizes down to the submicrometer range. If the grains are stable at high temperatures, the materials may exhibit excellent superplastic properties. In a recent paper, Roberto Figueiredo and Terence Langdon at the University of Southern California have obtained remarkably high superplastic elongations in a ZK60 magnesium alloy by using a process known as equal-channel angular pressing. They measured a record 3050% tensile elongation at 473 K, a result attributed to the optimization of grain refinement and structural stability in the alloy. Such astounding properties make ZK60 a promising material for use in industrial superplastic-forming processes.

To see more...