Journal article
Impacts of strain path on evolution of microstructures and texture of ECAP Zinc
Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol.1057, pp.1-13
2026
Abstract
Zinc (Zn) is of increasing interest for applications such as bioresorbable implants and zinc-ion batteries, but use is limited by poor mechanical performance. Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) offers a potential solution, yet its influence on Zn’s crystallographic texture and associated properties including corrosion, dendrite formation, and interfacial behaviours, remains insufficiently understood. This study examines the evolution of microstructure, texture, and slip activity in Zn processed by four standard ECAP routes, referred here as RA, RBA, RBC, and RC. A single ECAP pass produced considerable grain refinement, while further passes gave more limited refining effects and led to route dependent differences in microstructural uniformity and dislocation densities. Severe plastic deformation by ECAP led to broad engagement of basal, prismatic, and pyramidal modes with the contributions from the different modes varying across pressing sequences and between routes. The Y- and B-fibre textures developed in the first pass, while the subsequent textural evolution was strongly influenced by the strain path. RBA and RBC strengthened the Y-fibre at the expense of the B-fibre, in association with 90° billet rotations used for these routes, which led to increased engagement of higher-order pyramidal slip systems to accommodate enhanced c-axis strains. For RC, alternating iso-planar shear imparted by this route led to sustainment of the initially formed Y-fibre dominated texture. Meanwhile, route A distinctively strengthened the B-fibre as 90° intersecting shear planes formed under this strain path promoted continual favourable realignment of input basal planes to the applied shear. Overall, ECAP route strongly influenced the microstructures and textures developed in Zn, which has direct implications for tailoring its performance for biomedical and energy-storage applications.
Details
- Title
- Impacts of strain path on evolution of microstructures and texture of ECAP Zinc
- Authors
- Kurt Mills - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringHejie Li - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringVladimir Luzin - Australian Nuclear Science and Technology OrganisationDamon Kent (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Publication details
- Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol.1057, pp.1-13
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jallcom.2026.186935
- ISSN
- 1873-4669
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Data Availability
- No external data sources were used for the research described in the article. All data in this paper are obtained from our experiment and are authentic and reliable. The publication of data has obtained the consent of all authors.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991210067602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
26 File views/ downloads
5 Record Views