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Fully dense bulk nanocomposites have been obtained by a novel two-step severe plastic deformation process in the immiscible Fe–Cu system. Elemental micrometer-sized Cu and Fe powders were first mixed in different compositions and subsequently high-pressure-torsion-consolidated and deformed in a two-step deformation process. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atom probe investigations were performed to study the evolving far-from-equilibrium nanostructures which were observed at all compositions. For lower and higher Cu contents complete solid solutions of Cu in Fe and Fe in Cu, respectively, are obtained. In the near 50% regime a solid solution face-centred cubic and solid solution body-centred cubic nanograined composite has been formed. After an annealing treatment, these solid solutions decompose and form two-phase nanostructured Fe–Cu composites with a high hardness and an enhanced thermal stability. The grain size of the composites retained nanocrystalline up to high annealing temperatures.

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Severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes have attracted considerable attention due to their potential for fabricating large quantities of material with an overall small grain size. [1,2] In the last decade, various SPD processes have been proposed for ultragrain refinement, such as high pressure torsion (HPT), [1] equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) [3] accumulative roll bonding (ARB) [4] or-for achieving the smallest grain sizes for pure metals through SPD-repeated cold rolling (RCR) [5,6] as attractive routes for fabricating bulk nanoand submicron-grained materials. With these approaches, high densities of lattice defects are introduced into the material, which, according to the general view, can then rearrange to attain a minimum energy configuration by forming a submicron cell/sub-grain structure that can evolve to a fine grained microstructure with large fractions of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) upon continued straining. It has been observed that materials with fine grain sizes that had been synthesized by such a severe deformation route, exhibit spectacular properties and property combinations, such as, e.g., a very high yield strength and high ductility at the same time, enhanced hydrogen storage capacity and enhanced hydrogen permeation velocity or combinations of high mechanical strength and high electrical conductivity, see, e.g., the recent overview in ref. [7] Along with the modification of the grain structure towards finer grains, the high number of lattice defects that are created led to the postulation of modifications of the grain boundary structure to explain the unusual (mechanical) properties that were observed. In the simplest description, high numberBulk nanostructured-or ultrafine-grained materials are often fabricated by severe plastic deformation to break down the grain size by dislocation accumulation. Underlying the often spectacular property enhancement that forms the basis for a wide range of potential applications is a modification of the volume fraction of the grain boundaries. Yet, along with the property enhancements, several important questions arise concerning the accommodation of external stresses if dislocation-based processes are not longer dominant at small grain sizes. One question concerns so-called ''non-equilibrium'' grain boundaries that have been postulated to form during severe deformation and that might be of importance not only for the property enhancement known already today, but also for spectacular applications in the context of, e.g., gas permeation or fast matter transport for self-repairing structures. This contribution addresses the underlying issues by combining quantitative microstructure analysis at high resolution with grain boundary diffusion measurements.758

The release of excess volume upon recrystallization of ultrafine-grained Cu deformed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) was studied by means of the direct technique of high-precision difference dilatometry in combination with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy. From the length change associated with the removal of grain boundaries in the wake of crystallite growth, a structural key quantity of grain boundaries, the grain boundary excess volume or expansion eGB=(0.46±0.11)×10-10 m was directly determined. The value is quite similar to that measured by dilatometry for grain boundaries in HPT-deformed Ni. Activation energies for crystallite growth of 0.99±0.11 and 0.96±0.06eV are derived by Kissinger analysis from dilatometry and DSC data, respectively. In contrast to Ni, substantial length change proceeds in Cu at elevated temperatures beyond the regime of dominant crystallite growth. In the light of recent findings from tracer diffusion and permeation experiments, this is associated with the shrinkage of nanovoids at high temperatures.