An Investigation on the Softening Mechanism of 5754 Aluminum Alloy during Multistage Hot Deformation

Isothermal interrupted hot compression tests of 5754 aluminum were conducted on a Gleeble-3500 thermo-mechanical simulator at temperatures of 350 °C and 450 °C, and strain rates of 0.1 s−1 and 1 s−1. To investigate the metadynamic recrystallization behavior, a range of inter-pass delay times (5–60 s) was employed. These tests simulated flat rolling to investigate how softening behaviors respond to controlled parameters, such as deformation temperature, strain rate, and delay times. These data allowed the parameters for the hot rolling process to be optimized. The dynamic softening at each pass and the effect of metadynamic recrystallization on flow properties and microstructural evolution were analyzed in detail. An offset yield strength of 0.2% was employed to calculate the softening fraction undergoing metadynamic recrystallization. A kinetic model was developed to describe the metadynamic recrystallization behaviors of the hot-deformed 5754 aluminum alloy. Furthermore, the time constant for 50% recrystallization was expressed as functions related to the temperature and the strain rate. The experimental and calculated results were found to be in close agreement, which verified the developed model.