Hot deformation mechanisms of a solution-treated Al-Li-Cu-Mg-Zr alloy

Abstract

Solution-treated 8090 and 8091 Al-based alloys were subjected to hot torsion testing in the temperature range of 300 °C through 500 °C at strain rates of 0.1 to 5 s−1, up to an equivalent strain of 4. The flow stresses for alloys 8090 (8091) were found to depend on strain rate through a sinh function with exponent 3.98 (2.37) and on temperature through an Arrhenius behavior with activation energy of about 287 (282) kJ/mol. Studies using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been performed with the aim of understanding the difference in deformation mechanisms at 500 °C, 400 °C, and 300 °C. During hot processing, the mechanism of dynamic recovery is operative. The change in average subgrain size (d) with the conditions of deformation,i.e., Zener-Hollomon parameter and steady-state flow stress (σs), was quantitatively characterized. Heat treatment at 550 °C induced the precipitation of Al3Zr particles which are resistant to dislocation shear. Furthermore, electron microscopic analyses have revealed a large number of helical dislocations, prismatic loops, and some Orowan loop formation after deformation at 500 °C and 400 °C. The density of these defects depends on the temperature of deformation and strain rate. At 300 °C, dynamic precipitation of T2 (Al6CuLi3) and T1 (Al2CuLI) phases strongly affected hot deformation behavior. In all cases, the microstructural analyses were consistent with a dual-slope description of the mechanical behavior during hot deformation.