Forming behavior and workability of 6061/B4CP composite during hot deformation

Compression tests of 6061/B4CP composite have been performed in the compression temperature range from 300 °C to 500 °C and the strain rate range from 0.001 s−1 to 1 s−1. The flow behavior and processing map have been investigated using the corrected data to elimination of effect of friction. The processing maps exhibited two deterministic domains, one was situated at the temperature between 300 °C and 400 °C with strain rate between 0.003 s−1 and 0.18 s−1 and the other was situated at the temperature between 425 °C and 500 °C with strain rate between 0.003 s−1 and 0.18 s−1.The estimated apparent activation energies of these two domains, were 129 kJ/mol and 149 kJ/mol, which suggested that the deformation mechanisms were controlled by cross-slip and lattice self-diffusion respectively. The optimum parameters of hot working for the experimental composite were 350 °C – 0.01 s−1 and 500 °C – 0.01 s−1. In order to exactly predict dangerous damaging mechanism under different deformation conditions exactly, Gegel’s criterion was applied to obtain processing map in the paper. The result showed that the processing map used Gegel’s criterion can be effectively to predict the material behavior of the experimental composite.

► The flow behavior and processing map have been investigated using the data corrected. ► Gegel’s instability criterion has been applied to establish the processing map. ► Deformation mechanisms in some deterministic deformation conditions can be predicted. ► Optimum parameters have been gained according to the processing map. ► Combining to processing map, the microstructure evolution has been researched.