Temperature dependent deformation behavior and texture evolution in AA6082 aluminum alloy: An integrated experimental and crystal plasticity simulation approach

Abstract

This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the texture and temperature dependent deformation behavior of the aluminum alloy AA6082. The study is performed using a combination of experimental deformation tests and computational simulations using a crystal plasticity (CP) framework. The primary objective is to identify the critical influence of temperature on local stress states and dislocation density within the material during tensile tests. From an experimental perspective, the study employs ex-situ deformation tests and subsequent electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data in combination with energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) analysis at 200 °C and 400 °C. The experimental EBSD data are adopted, preprocessed and converted into a geometry file for the numerical simulations. On the computational front, a dislocation density-based material model is adopted for CP simulations. The physical and fitting parameters of the model are calculated, adopted from the literature, or calibrated by comparing the global simulation results with experimental stress-strain observations under uniaxial tensile load at room temperature, 200 °C and 400 °C. Empirical functions for solid solution strengthening, dislocation density, fitting parameters controlling mean free path and dislocation annihilation have been derived that can be used to quickly interpolate them for any intermediate temperature. These functions combined with other model parameters can now be used for temperature-dependent CP modeling of AA6082. The isothermal grain-scale simulation and ex-situ experimental results confirmed a noteworthy texture transformation at higher temperatures, characterized by a reduction in the primary Cube orientation and its transition into a Copper orientation due to the stretching process. The correlation between the experimental results and the simulations on macro- and micro-scales is reasonable, indicating the accuracy and effectiveness of the CP approach in predicting the temperature dependent deformation behavior and texture evolution in aluminum alloys.