Evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture in a novel Zr-4Nb-2Al alloy during hot rotary swaging
Abstract
A multi-step induction-assisted hot rotary swaging route was developed for the novel dual-phase Zr-4Nb-2Al alloy to investigate the evolution of microstructure, crystallographic texture, and mechanical properties during sequential deformation. Phase-transformation temperatures determined by electrical resistivity measurements were used to select processing conditions in the single-phase β field at 880°C and the α+β field at 780°C. Induction heating with thermographic temperature control enabled reduction of the initial 12 mm rod to 6.3 mm, corresponding to a total area reduction of 72%. Swaging in the β field refined millimetre-sized prior-β grains to approximately 100 μm, while subsequent cooling produced a fine lamellar α+β microstructure. Further deformation in the α+β field disrupted the lamellar structure, promoted globularisation and recrystallisation of the α phase, and refined the β phase. The microstructural evolution was accompanied by a pronounced ⟨ 112̅0⟩α∥SD fibre texture in the α phase, whereas the β phase exhibited predominantly ⟨ 110⟩β∥SD together with a ⟨ 111⟩β∥SD component. The phase constitution remained comparatively stable, with approximately 12-15 wt.% retained β throughout processing. Subsequent α+β swaging decreased the compressive yield strength from 1103 to 839 MPa while increasing plastic deformability, with a maximum fracture strain of 32%. Radial hardness heterogeneity was progressively eliminated. These results demonstrate that induction-assisted rotary swaging in selected phase fields provides an effective route for tailoring microstructure, texture, and mechanical response in dual-phase zirconium alloys.
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BibTeX
@misc{strnad2026evolution,
title = {{Evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture in a novel Zr-4Nb-2Al alloy during hot rotary swaging}},
author = {Adam Strnad and Jana Šmilauerová and Josef Stráský and Lukáš Horák and Jan Čapek and Alžběta Endrychová and Martin Holčák and Jiří Zýka and Miloš Janeček and Petr Harcuba},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.33247},
eprint = {2610.33247},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.33247},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Evolution of microstructure and crystallographic texture in a novel Zr-4Nb-2Al alloy during hot rotary swaging
AU - Adam Strnad
AU - Jana Šmilauerová
AU - Josef Stráský
AU - Lukáš Horák
AU - Jan Čapek
AU - Alžběta Endrychová
AU - Martin Holčák
AU - Jiří Zýka
AU - Miloš Janeček
AU - Petr Harcuba
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.33247
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.33247
AB - A multi-step induction-assisted hot rotary swaging route was developed for the novel dual-phase Zr-4Nb-2Al alloy to investigate the evolution of microstructure, crystallographic texture, and mechanical properties during sequential deformation. Phase-transformation temperatures determined by electrical resistivity measurements were used to select processing conditions in the single-phase β field at 880°C and the α+β field at 780°C. Induction heating with thermographic temperature control enabled reduction of the initial 12 mm rod to 6.3 mm, corresponding to a total area reduction of 72%. Swaging in the β field refined millimetre-sized prior-β grains to approximately 100 μm, while subsequent cooling produced a fine lamellar α+β microstructure. Further deformation in the α+β field disrupted the lamellar structure, promoted globularisation and recrystallisation of the α phase, and refined the β phase. The microstructural evolution was accompanied by a pronounced ⟨ 112̅0⟩_α∥SD fibre texture in the α phase, whereas the β phase exhibited predominantly ⟨ 110⟩_β∥SD together with a ⟨ 111⟩_β∥SD component. The phase constitution remained comparatively stable, with approximately 12-15 wt.% retained β throughout processing. Subsequent α+β swaging decreased the compressive yield strength from 1103 to 839 MPa while increasing plastic deformability, with a maximum fracture strain of 32%. Radial hardness heterogeneity was progressively eliminated. These results demonstrate that induction-assisted rotary swaging in selected phase fields provides an effective route for tailoring microstructure, texture, and mechanical response in dual-phase zirconium alloys.
ER -