Deformation coordination behaviors and microstructure evolution of 1060Al/6061Al-SiC/1060Al composites during hot deformation

Abstract

The hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of 1060Al/6061Al-SiC/1060Al laminated particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (LPRAMCs) under different process parameters and the deformation coordination between the component layers were investigated by hot-compression technology. The deformation of the LPRAMCs was dominated by work-hardening as exhibited by the flow stress curves, and stress decrease occurred at high strain rate (20 s⁻¹) when the strain was greater than 0.8 due to the deformation incoordination between the SiC particles and the Al matrix. The deformation in the central region of the composite after compression was dominated by the SiC-reinforced 6061Al layer (CS layer). In contrast, the deformation at the edge was primarily governed by the 1060Al layer (Al layer), and the optimal deformation coordination was achieved under the high-temperature/low-strain-rate region (400–500 °C/0.01–1 s⁻¹). The microstructural evolution indicated that 1060Al has equiaxed fine grains near the interface and coarse grains away from the interface, the recrystallization of 6061Al in the CS layer occurred earlier than that of 1060Al in the Al layer, and the grain size (GS) of 6061Al was less affected by the deformation parameters due to the SiC particles in the CS layer. With the increase of lnZ, the recrystallized proportion of Al grains in the Al layer and CS layer decreased gradually.