The processing of bulk metals through the application of severe plastic deformation (SPD) provides the potential for achieving exceptional grain refinement leading to ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials. These materials generally exhibit high strength but very limited ductility at room temperature. The recent development in the nanoindentation technique provides significant feasibility in evaluating the micro-mechanical behavior of UFG materials. Accordingly, this review examines the available experimental results showing the enhancement in strength and ductility through nanoindentation analysis in various materials after different SPD techniques. A comprehensive tabulation is also presented listing the available data for the strain rate sensitivity, m, in a variety of UFG metals processed by SPD.
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