Author(s)

M. Rajamuthamilselvan, S. Ramanathan

Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, India.

In Stir cast Al 7075/20%SiC_p composites were subjected to compression testing at strain rates and temperatures ranging from 0.001 to 1.0 s^–1 and from 300°C to 500°C respectively. And the associated microstructural transformations and instability phenomena were studied by observations of the optical electron microscope. The power dissipation efficiency and instability parameter were calculated following the dynamic material model and plotted with the temperature and logarithm of strain rate to obtain processing maps for strains of 0.5. The processing maps present the instability zones at higher strain rates. The result shows that with increasing strain, the instability zones enlarge. The microstructural examination shows that the interface separates even the particle cracks or aligns along the shear direction of the adiabatic shear band in the instability zones. The domain of higher efficiencies corresponds to dynamic recrystallization during the hot deformation. Using the processing maps, the optimum processing parameters of stain rates and temperatures can be chosen for effective hot deformation of Al 7075/20%SiC_p composites.

Composites; Processing Maps; Dynamic Recrystallization; Flow Instability

M. Rajamuthamilselvan and S. Ramanathan, "Deformation Stability of Al 7075/20%SiC_p (63 μm) Composites during Hot Compression," Geomaterials, Vol. 2 No. 4, 2012, pp. 121-127. doi: 10.4236/gm.2012.24017.