Effects of the Strain Rate and Temperature on the Microstructural Evolution of Twin-Rolled Cast Wrought AZ31B Alloys Sheets

This article investigates the effects of the strain rate and temperature on the microstructural evolution of twin-rolled cast wrought AZ31B sheets. This was achieved through static heating and through tensile test performed at strain rates from 10^?4 to 10^?1 s^?1 and temperatures between room temperature (RT) and 300 °C. While brittle fracture with high stresses and limited elongation was observed at the RT, ductile behavior was obtained at higher temperatures with low strain rates. The strain rate sensitivity and activation energy calculations indicate that grain boundary diffusion and lattice diffusion are the two rate-controlling mechanisms at warm and high temperatures, respectively. An analysis of the evolution of the microstructure provided some indications of the most probable deformation mechanisms in the material: twinning operates at lower temperatures, and dynamic recrystallization dominates at higher temperatures. The static evolution of the microstructure was also studied, proving a gradual static grain growth of the AZ31B with annealing temperature and time.     

Material Models for Simulation of Superplastic Mg Alloy Sheet Forming

Accurate prediction of strain fields and cycle times for fine-grained Mg alloy sheet forming at high temperatures (400-500 °C) is severely limited by a lack of accurate material constitutive models. This paper details an important first step toward addressing this issue by evaluating material constitutive models, developed from tensile data, for high-temperature plasticity of a fine-grained Mg AZ31 sheet material. The finite element method was used to simulate gas pressure bulge forming experiments at 450 °C using four constant gas pressures. The applicability of the material constitutive models to a balanced-biaxial stress state was evaluated through comparison of simulation results with bulge forming data. Simulations based upon a phenomenological material constitutive model developed using data from both tensile elongation and strain-rate-change experiments were found to be in favorable accord with experiments. These results provide new insights specific to the construction and use of material constitutive models for hot deformation of wrought, fine-grained Mg alloys.     

Hot Tensile Deformation Characteristics and Processing Map of Extruded AZ80 Mg Alloys

The hot deformation behaviors of extruded AZ80 Mg alloys were investigated using tension tests. True stress-true strain curves were obtained for deformation at temperatures from 250 to 450 °C with the strain rate range from 0.001 to 0.08 s^?1. Optical microscopy analysis was performed to correlate microstructural changes to the flow behaviors. Based on the flow stress, the processing map at a strain of 0.18 was developed using the dynamic materials model theory and can be divided into three zones, including stability zones, change-over region, and instability zones. In stability zones, there are two dynamic recrystallization regions: one region with a peak efficiency of 58% at 350 °C and a strain rate of 0.001 s^?1 called domain I; another region with a peak efficiency of 58% at 400 °C and a strain rate of 0.01 s^?1 taken as domain II. The apparent activation energy for domain I was estimated to be 100.71 kJ/mol, indicating that short-circuit diffusion process is along the grain boundaries and falls at lower temperatures and lower strain rates. A lattice self-diffusion is considered to be rate controlling mechanism with the apparent activation energy estimated as 140.32 kJ/mol at higher temperatures and higher strain rates in domain II. The change-over region is the zone from domain I to domain II, in which the grains abnormally grow. In instability zones, twins, local deformation band, wedge cracking, and matrix cracking were observed, suggesting that these processing parameters for hot tension in this zone are inapplicable.     

Deformation behavior and processing maps of Mg-Zn-Y alloy containing I phase at elevated temperatures

The microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-Zn alloy containing Y element were investigated in temperature range of 300–450 °C and strain rate range of 0.001–1 s^?1 through hot compression tests. Processing maps were used to indicate optimum conditions and instability zones for hot deformation of alloys. For Mg-Zn and Mg-Zn-Y alloys, peak stress, temperature and strain rate were related by hyperbolic sine function, and activation energies were obtained to be 177 and 236 kJ/mol, respectively. Flow curves showed that the addition of Y element led to increase in peak stress and decrease in peak strain, and indicated that DRX started at lower strains in Mg-Zn-Y alloy than in Mg-Zn alloy. The stability domains of Mg-Zn-Y alloy were indicated in two domains as 1) 300 °C, 0.001 s^?1; 350 °C, 0.01–0.1 s^?1 and 400 °C, 0.01 s^?1 and 2) 450 °C, 0.01–0.1 s^?1. Microstructural observations showed that DRX was the main restoration mechanism for alloys, and fully dynamic recrystallization of Mg-Zn-Y alloy was observed at 450 °C. The instability domain in Mg-Zn-Y alloy was located significantly at high strain rates. In addition, the instability zone width of Mg-Zn and Mg-Zn-Y alloys increased with increasing strain, and cracks, twins and severe deformation were considered in these regions.     

Deformation mechanism temperature-dependence of AZ31 magnesium alloy

The deformation behavior of AZ31 Mg alloy is studied here in relation to the temperature. A rolled plate with a thickness of 50 mm was first homogenized at 400 °C for 4 h before preparing test specimens with the tensile axis parallel to the rolling direction (RD). A series of tensile tests was then carried out at a strain rate of 10⁻²/s together with load relaxation tests to obtain flow curves in terms of the stress and strain rate at room temperature (RT), 100 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C. The flow curves were found to represent the usual grain matrix deformation (GMD) behavior, consisting of the accumulation and relaxation of glide dislocations at temperatures of less than 100 °C. At temperatures greater than 200 °C, grain boundary sliding (GBS) was found to play an important role, as described in theories related to an internal variable. The GBS could be characterized as a non-Newtonian viscous flow with a power index value of M _g = 0.5.     

Optimization of a hot deformation process of the 3003 aluminum alloy by processing maps

Hot deformation behavior of the 3003 Al alloy was investigated by conducting hot compression tests at various temperatures (300?C500 °C) and strain rates (0.0l?C10.0 s^?1). A constitutive equation was established to describe the flow behavior. The apparent activation energy of the 3003 Al alloy was determined to be 174.62 kJ·mol^?1, which is higher than that for self-diffusion in pure Al (165 kJ·mol^?1). Processing maps at a strain of 0.6 for hot working were developed on a dynamic materials model. The maps exhibit a flow instability domain at about 300?C380 °C and 1.0?C10.0 s^?1. Dynamic recrystallization occurs extensively in the temperature range of 450?C500 °C and at the strain rate of 10.0 s^?1. The optimum parameters of hot working for the 3003 Al alloy are confined at 500 °C and 10.0 s^?1 with the highest efficiency (37%).     

A Study on the Hot Deformation Behavior of Cast Mg-4Sn-2Ca (TX42) Alloy

The hot deformation behavior of as-cast Mg-4Sn-2Ca (TX42) alloy has been studied using compression tests in the temperature range of 300°C to 500°C, and strain rate range of 0.0003 s^?1 to 10 s^?1. Based on the flow stress data, a processing map has been developed, which exhibited two domains of dynamic recrystallization in the temperature and strain rate ranges: (I) 300°C to 380°C and 0.0003 s^?1 to 0.001 s^?1, and (II) 400°C to 500°C and 0.004 s^?1 to 6 s^?1. While hot working may be conducted in either of these domains, the resulting grain sizes are finer in the first domain than in the second. The apparent activation energy values estimated by kinetic analysis of the temperature and strain rate dependence of flow stress in the domains 1 and 2 are 182 kJ/mol and 179 kJ/mol, respectively. Both the values are much higher than that for self-diffusion in pure magnesium, indicating that the thermally stable CaMgSn particles in the matrix cause significant back stress during the hot deformation of this alloy. The alloy exhibits a regime of flow instability at lower temperatures and higher strain rates, which manifested as flow localization.     

Thermal expansion and dimensional stability of unidirectional and orthogonal fabric M40/AZ91D composites

Unidirectional (60%, volume fraction) and orthogonal (50%, volume fraction) M40 graphite fibre reinforced AZ91D magnesium alloy matrix composites were fabricated by pressure infiltration method. The coefficients of thermal expansion (in the temperature range of 20-350 ℃) and dimensional stability (in the temperature range of 20-150 ℃) of the composites and the corresponding AZ91D magnesium alloy matrix were measured. The results show that coefficients of thermal expansion of the composites in longitudinal direction decrease with elevating temperature. The coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) for unidirectional M40/AZ91D composites and orthogonal M40/AZ91D composites are 1.24×10-6 ℃-1 and 5.71×10-6 ℃-1 at 20 ℃, and 0.85×10-6 ℃-1 and 2.75×10-6 ℃-1 at 350 ℃, respectively, much lower than those of the AZ91D alloy matrix. Thermal cycling testing demonstrates that the thermal stress plays an important role on residual deformation. Thus, a better dimensional stability is obtained for the AZ91D magnesium alloy matrix composites. More extreme strain hysteresis and residual plastic deformation are observed in orthogonally fabric M40 reinforced AZ91D composite, but its net residual strain after each cycle is similar to that of the unidirectional M40/AZ91D composite.     

AZ41镁合金超塑性成形特性

研究AZ41镁合金在热轧(无后续热变形)条件下的显微组织变化,以确定其在超塑性成形工艺中的适用性,并确定最佳成形参数.采用高温拉伸试验和热气体胀形试验对材料在不同应变速率(1×10?1～1×10?3 s?1)和温度(350～450℃)下的成形性进行评估.利用GOM Aramis相机进行圆形网格分析,了解峰值应变和材料减...     

Hot deformation behavior of Al–9.0Mg–0.5Mn–0.1Ti alloy based on processing maps

Hot deformation behavior of extrusion preform of the spray-formed Al–9.0Mg–0.5Mn–0.1Ti alloy was studied using hot compression tests over deformation temperature range of 300–450 °C and strain rate range of 0.01–10 s^?1. On the basis of experiments and dynamic material model, 2D processing maps and 3D power dissipation maps were developed for identification of exact instability regions and optimization of hot processing parameters. The experimental results indicated that the efficiency factor of energy dissipate (η) lowered to the minimum value when the deformation conditions located at the strain of 0.4, temperature of 300 °C and strain rate of 1 s^?1. The softening mechanism was dynamic recovery, the grain shape was mainly flat, and the portion of high angle grain boundary (>15°) was 34%. While increasing the deformation temperature to 400 °C and decreasing the strain rate to 0.1 s^?1, a maximum value of η was obtained. It can be found that the main softening mechanism was dynamic recrystallization, the structures were completely recrystallized, and the portion of high angle grain boundary accounted for 86.5%. According to 2D processing maps and 3D power dissipation maps, the optimum processing conditions for the extrusion preform of the spray-formed Al–9.0Mg–0.5Mn–0.1Ti alloy were in the deformation temperature range of 340–450 °C and the strain rate range of 0.01–0.1 s^?1 with the power dissipation efficiency range of 38%–43%.     

Hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of a Mg–Gd–Nd–Y–Zn alloy

The hot deformation behavior of homogenized Mg–6.5Gd–1.3Nd–0.7Y–0.3Zn alloy was investigated during compression at temperatures of 250–400 ℃ and at strain rates ranging from 0.001 to 0.100 s~(-1). Microstructure analyses show that the flow behaviors are associated with the deformation mechanisms. At the lower temperatures(250–300 ℃), deformation twinning is triggered due to the difficult activation of dislocation cross-slip. Dynamic recrystallization(DRX) accompanied by dynamic precipitation occurs at the temperature of 350 ℃ and influences the softening behavior of the flow.DRX that develops extensively at original grain boundaries is the main softening mechanism at the high temperature of 400 ℃ and eventually brings a more homogeneous microstructure than that in other deformation conditions. The volume fraction of the DRXed grains increases with temperature increasing and decreases with strain rate increasing.     

Hot Compression Deformation Behavior and Processing Maps of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr Alloy

Hot compression deformation behavior and processing maps of the Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy were investigated in this paper. Compression tests were conducted at the temperature range from 300 to 450 °C and the strain rate range from 0.001 to 1.0 s^?1. It is found that the flow stress behavior is described by the hyperbolic sine constitutive equation in which the average activation energy of 251.96 kJ/mol is calculated. Through the flow stress behavior, the processing maps are calculated and analyzed according to the dynamic materials model. In the processing maps, the variation of the efficiency of the power dissipation is plotted as a function of temperature and strain rate. The instability domains of flow behavior are identified by the maps. The maps exhibit a domain of dynamic recrystallization occurring at the temperature range of 375-450 °C and strain rate range of 0.001-0.03 s^?1 which are the optimum parameters for hot working of the alloy.     

Effect of nano-sized Al2O3 reinforcing particles on uniaxial and high cycle fatigue behaviors of hot-forged AZ31B magnesium alloy

The effect of hot-forging process was investigated on microstructural and mechanical properties of AZ31B alloy and AZ31B/1.5vol.%Al₂O₃ nanocomposite under static and cycling loading. The as-cast alloy and composite were firstly subjected to a homogenization heat treatment at 450 °C and then an open-die forging at 450 °C. The results indicated that the presence of reinforcing particles led to grain refinement and improvement of dynamic recrystallization. The forging process was more effective to eliminate the porosity in the cast alloy workpiece. Microhardness of the forged composite was increased by up to 80% and 16%, in comparison with those of the cast and forged alloy samples, respectively. Ultimate tensile strength and maximum tensile strain of the composite were improved by up to 45% and 23%, compared with those of the forged alloy in similar regions. These enhancements were respectively 50% and 37% in the compression test. The composite exhibited a fatigue life improvement in the region with low applied strain; however, a degradation was observed in the high applied strain region. Unlike AZ31B samples, tensile, compressive and high cycle fatigue behaviors of the composite showed less sensitivity to the applied strain, which can be attributed to the amount of porosity in the samples before and after the hot-forging.     

Optimization of thermal processing parameters of Ti555211 alloy using processing maps based on Murty criterion

Isothermal compression testing of Ti555211 titanium alloys was carried out at deformation temperatures from 750 to 950 °C in 50 °C intervals with a strain rate of0.001–1.000 s~(-1). The high-temperature deformation behavior of the Ti555211 alloy was characterized by analysis of stress–strain behavior, kinetics and processing maps. A constitutive equation was formulated to describe the flow stress as a function of deformation temperature and strain rate, and the calculated apparent activation energies are found to be 454.50 and 207.52 k J mol~(-1)in the a b-phase and b-phase regions, respectively. A processing map based on the Murty instability criterion was developed at a strain of 0.7. The maps exhibit two domains of peak efficiency from 750 to 950 °C. A *60 % peak efficiency occurs at 800–850 °C/0.001–0.010 s~(-1). The other peak efficiency of *60 % occurs at C950 °C/0.001–0.010 s~(-1), which can be considered to be the optimum condition for high-temperature working of this alloy.However, at strain rates of higher than 1.000 s~(-1)and deformation temperatures of 750 and 950 °C, clear process flow lines and bands of flow localization occur in the hightemperature deformation process, which should be avoided in Ti555211 alloy hot processing. The mechanism in stability domain and instability domain was also discussed.     

High Temperature Deformation Behavior of Al–Zn–Mg-Based New Alloy Using a Dynamic Material Model

High temperature compression tests for newly developed Al–Zn–Mg alloy were carried out to investigate its hot deformation behavior and obtain deformation processing maps. In the compression tests, cylindrical specimens were deformed at high temperatures (300–500 °C) and strain rates of 0.001–1/s. Using the true stress–true strain curves obtained from the compression tests, processing maps were constructed by evaluating the power dissipation efficiency map and flow instability map. The processing map can be divided into three areas according to the microstructures of the deformed specimens: instability area with flow localization, instability area with mixed grains, and stable area with homogeneous grains resulting from continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX). The results suggest that the optimal processing conditions for the Al–Zn–Mg alloy are 450 °C and a strain rate of 0.001/s, having a stable area with homogeneous grains resulting from CDRX.     

Characteristics of High-Temperature Deformation Behavior of Ti-45Al-2Cr-3Ta-0.5W Alloy

High-temperature deformation behavior tests of as-cast Ti-45Al-2Cr-3Ta-0.5W alloy were conducted over a wide range of strain rates (0.001-1.0 s^?1) and temperatures (1150-1300 °C). The flow curves for the current alloy exhibited sharp peaks at low strain levels, followed by pronounced work hardening and flow localization at high strain levels. Phenomenological analysis of the strain rate and temperature dependence of peak stress data yielded an average value of the strain rate sensitivity equal to 0.25 and an apparent activation energy of ~420 kJ/mol. Processing maps were established under different deformation conditions, and the optimal condition for hot work on this material was determined to be 1250 °C/0.001 s^?1. The stable deformation region was also found to decrease with increasing strain. Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was the major softening mechanism controlling the growth of grains at the grain boundary. Meanwhile, local globularization and dynamic recovery (DR) were the main softening mechanisms in the lamellar colony. When deformed at higher temperatures (~1300 °C), the cyclic DRX and DR appeared to dominate the deformation. Moreover, the evolution of the β phase during hot deformation played an important role in the dynamic softening of the alloy.     

Simulation of strain-softening behaviors in an AZ31 Mg alloy showing distinct twin-induced reorientation before a peak stress

To investigate strain-softening behavior during plastic deformation of an AZ31 Mg alloy, cylindrical specimens were compressed in a rolling direction at 300 °C. Experimental evidence revealed that an inhomogeneous microstructure evolved due to the softening behavior associated with deformation at elevated temperatures. The large grains that reoriented as a result of deformation twinning were free of dynamic recrystallization (DRX). Fine grains nucleated at grain boundaries of grains were deformed by a slip-dominated mechanism, which accommodated the external strain. A visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) polycrystal model was used to simulate softening of the flow stress curve and texture evolution during uniaxial compression. A softening scheme was implemented in the polycrystal model to predict the softening phenomenon and texture evolution after the peak stress. The original VPSC model was modified to simulate texture evolution in an AZ31 Mg alloy that exhibited twin-dominated deformation before the peak stress.     

Temperature-Dependent Flow Behavior and Microstructural Evolution During Compression of As-Cast Mg-7.7Al-0.4Zn

The microstructure and mechanical properties improve substantially by hot working. This aspect in as-cast Mg-7.7Al-0.4Zn (AZ80) alloy is investigated by compression tests over temperature range of 30-439°C and at strain rates of 5 × 10^?2, 10^?2, 5 × 10^?4 and 10^?4 s^?1. The stress exponent (n) and activation energy (Q) were evaluated and analyzed for high-temperature deformation along with the microstructures. Upon deformation to a true strain of 0.80, which corresponds to the pseudo-steady-state condition, n and Q were found to be 5 and 151 kJ/mol, respectively. This suggests the dislocation climb-controlled mechanism for deformation. Prior to attaining the pseudo-steady-state condition, the stress-strain curves of AZ80 Mg alloy exhibit flow hardening followed by flow softening depending on the test temperature and strain rate. The microstructures obtained upon deformation revealed dissolution of Mg₁₇Al₁₂ particles with concurrent grain growth of α-matrix. The parameters like strain rate sensitivity and activation energy were analyzed for describing the microstructure evolution also as a function of strain rate and temperature. This exhibited similar trend as seen for deformation per se. Thus, the mechanisms for deformation and microstructure evolution are suggested to be interdependent.     

An internal variable approach of orientation dependent deformation mechanism of rolled AZ31 magnesium alloy

Load relaxation behavior of an AZ31 Mg alloy has been studied in relation to temperature and orientation dependence. The rolled plate with 50 mm thickness was first homogenized at 400 °C for 4 h before preparing test specimens in the directions of 0° (RD), 45°, and 90° (ND) from the rolling direction. A series of tensile tests was consequently carried out under a strain rate of 10⁻²/s at room temperature (RT), 100 °C, and 200 °C. The RD specimens were found to deform mainly by dislocation slips without twinning. The 45° and 90° specimens were, on the other hand, found to deform in a combined mode of twinning and dislocation slips. Load relaxation tests were also performed to obtain flow curves in terms of stress and strain rate at the three different temperatures. The flow curves in terms of stress vs. strain rate were also found to consist of a plasticity curve due to dislocation glides in the lower strain rate region and a twin curve in the high strain rate range for the 45° and 90° specimens as prescribed by an internal variable theory. These results were consistent with the tensile test results and were further confirmed by microstructure observations.     

Effect of initial microstructure on hot workability of 7085 aluminum alloy

The hot workability of 7085 aluminum alloys with different initial microstructures (as-homogenized and as-solution treated) was studied by isothermal compression tests at the deformation temperature ranging from 300 to 450 °C and the strain rate ranging from 0.0001 to 1 s^?1. The strain rate sensitivity of the alloy was evaluated and used for establishing the power dissipation maps and instability maps on the basis of the flow stress data. The results show that the efficiency of power dissipation for the as-homogenized alloy is lower than that of the as-solution treated alloy. The deformation parameters of the dynamic recrystallization for the as-homogenized and as-solution treated alloy occur at 400 °C, 0.01 s^?1 and 450 °C, 0.001 s^?1, respectively. The flow instability region of the as-homogenized alloy is narrower than that of the as-solution treated alloy. These differences of the alloys with two different initial microstructures on the processing maps are mainly related to the dynamic precipitation characteristics.