Anisotropic deformation behavior of as-extruded 6063-T4 alloy under dynamic impact loading

The deformation behavior of 6063-T4 aluminum alloy bar was investigated by compression tests conducted at a wide strain rate range of 10−4 to 9×103 s−1 with loading directions at 0°, 45° and 90° to the axis of the extruded bar. It is found that the flow stresses of 0° specimens are always the highest and those of the 45° specimens are the lowest at the same conditions. The flow stress exhibits obvious strain rate sensitivity (SRS), which differs from static to dynamic deformation. The Schmid factors (SFs) for each type of texture components were calculated. For the {112}<111> texture component, the max Schmid factors are 0.27, 0.49 and 0.41 for 0°, 45° and 90° specimens. For the {110}<111> texture component, they are 0.27, 0.43 and 0.41 for the three directions. The initial texture changes significantly with increasing strain, the strain rate has slight influence on the texture evolution. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations indicate that as the strain rate increases, the density of the dislocation increases and its distribution becomes more homogeneous. It is necessary to consider the anisotropic deformation behavior and microstructure evolution in material selection and structure design for the impact components.