Room temperature strengthening mechanisms, high temperature deformation behavior and constitutive modeling in an Al-3.25Mg-0.37Zr-0.28Mn-0.19Y alloy

Abstract

To improve the ambient strength and high temperature ductility, a novel Al-3.25Mg-0.37Zr-0.28Mn-0.19Y (wt.%) alloy has been fabricated by multidirectional forging and warm rolling. Microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated by light microscope, X-ray diffraction apparatus, transmission electron microscope, and tensile tester. The ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of 354.67 ± 0.04, 254 ± 3 MPa, and 18.47% were achieved in the processed alloy, respectively, at room temperature. The maximum superplasticity of 412.5% was demonstrated in this fine-grained (grain size of 8.80 ± 1.06 μm) alloy at 793 K and 8.33 × 10−4 s−1. An ambient strengthening sequence was obtained: grain boundary strengthening > dislocation strengthening > Orowan strengthening > solid solution strengthening. The occurrence of Portevin–Le Chatelier effect or serrated flow in as-annealed alloy was confirmed by theoretical model estimation and experimental evidence. Microstructural evolution and flow stress curves confirmed that dynamic recovery and dynamic grain growth occurred at elevated temperatures; Sotoudeh-Bate curves were discovered at higher temperatures and lower strain rates. Solute Mg, dynamic grain growth, and flow localization were responsible for the formation of Sotoudeh-Bate curves. Modified Johnson–Cook constitutive equation considering dislocation variables and power-law constitutive equation were established. In this fine-grained alloy at 793 K and 8.33 × 10−4 s−1, the number of dislocations inside a grain was 6, the stress exponent was 2, the grain size exponent was 2, and the average activation energy for deformation was 140.10 kJ/mol. These pieces of evidence demonstrated that grain boundary sliding accommodated by intragranular dislocation controlled by lattice diffusion governs the rate-controlling process.