A continuous dynamic recrystallization constitutive model combined with grain fragmentation and subgrain rotation for aluminum alloy 2219 under hot deformation

The large temperature gradient resulted from rapid heat dissipation and a long process period in the hot deformation of aluminum alloy causes complex microstructure evolutions. Accurate constitutive models describing the evolution of the microstructures over a wide temperature range are acquired. Thus, a physically-based continuous dynamic recrystallization constitutive model combined with grain fragmentation and subgrain rotation was established in this investigation. Uniaxial hot compression tests for aluminum alloy 2219 were conducted at temperatures of 250 °C–450 °C and the evolution of microstructures were analyzed via metallographic technique. Then internal state variables were proposed to describe the migration of grain boundary, dislocation density, average grain boundary misorientation, and subgrain/grain size. The net torque on the grain is introduced to precisely describe the progressive subgrain rotation mechanism. Moreover, geometrically necessary dislocations are considered to reasonably simulate the rise in flow stress associated with grain fragmentation. The results show that continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) and dynamic recovery are the main softening mechanisms. The CDRX mechanism is gradually changed from grain fragmentation to subgrain rotation due to the increase in temperature. The new constitutive model may precisely predict the flow stresses, subgrain/grain size, and average misorientation in the wide temperature range. Comparing with the existing continuous dynamic recrystallization model which only considers subgrain rotation, the overestimate of the grain size in the low-temperature range is avoided in the new constitutive model. Furthermore, the contributions of the grain fragmentation to the increase in strain hardening can reasonably be covered. (paper)