A new dynamic recrystallisation model of an extruded Al-Cu-Li alloy during high-temperature deformation

The high-temperature deformation behaviour and microstructure evolution of an extruded Al-Cu-Li alloy were investigated by compression tests conducted at various temperatures (613, 673 and 733 K) with various strain rates (0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 s-1). The results indicated that the deformation activation energy increased from 208.7 kJ/mol to 255.7 kJ/mol with an increase in strain from 0.1 to 0.7. The electron backscatter diffraction maps indicated that a dynamic recrystallisation occurred during the high-temperature deformation. Two types of recrystallisation mechanisms, grain boundary bulging and a grain boundary transformation from low misorientation to high misorientation, were considered as the mechanisms for controlling the formation of the recrystallised grains. A new dynamic recrystallisation model containing these two mechanisms was proposed to describe the microstructure evolution of the extruded Al-Cu-Li alloy. At the early stage of the deformation, the recrystallised grains were formed by grain boundary bulging along the original grain boundaries. With increasing strain, recrystallised grains were gradually generated in the deformed grains due to the transformation from low angle boundaries to high angle boundaries.