The structural evolution and hardness of vanadium under high pressure torsion at room temperature is investigated. Strain localization has been observed at true strains less than 1 (e 1), leading to the formation of a banded structure. The study shows that strain localization delays the transition to the SMC structure during subsequent deformation. The mechanisms underlying the formation of deformation bands in vanadium are discussed. Dislocations are found to play a dominant role in the hardening of vanadium during the initial deformation stages (e 1), while high-angle grain boundaries of deformation origin emerged as the main contributors at higher strains. In addition, the parameters of the Hall–Petch-type equation are determined.
Gapontseva et al. (Wed,) studied this question.