Constituent particle break-up during hot rolling of AA 5182

Abstract

Aluminum sheet is currently used for body panels on a number of mass-produced vehicles, in particular for closure panels. AA5xxx alloys always contain coarse inter-metallic particles (Alx(Fe,Mn)ySi, Mg2Si) after casting. In the present work inter-metallic particle break-up during hot reversible rolling of AA5182 alloy sheets has been analyzed. The sizes and shapes of inter-metallic particles in as-cast and industrially hot rolled AA5182 alloys sheets were characterized by 3D X-ray tomography observations. The relation between particle break-up and particle morphology was then analyzed statistically and by a micromechanical finite element (FE)-based model. The essential outcomes of the statistical approach may be summarized as follows. The inter-metallic particle population may be described by five morphological parameters. Secondly the comparison of the particle morphology in as cast and industrially rolled sheets leads to the definition of five classes. The evolution of each particle class as function of the rolling strain is provided. The statistical analysis shows which particles break-up. The stresses and strains in inter-metallic particles, embedded in an elasto-viscoplastic aluminum matrix submitted to plane strain compression, were analyzed by an FE model. A new failure criterion was proposed. The essential outcomes of the mechanical approach are as follows: a precise description of stress concentration mechanisms in nonconvex particles, a close description of the parameters controlling particle break-up, and finally a simplified classification of the failure behavior. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.