Part XI – November 1968 - Papers - The Effect of Strain Rate and Temperature on the Flow Stress of 7075 Aluminum

Tensile data indicate that over the range of strain rates 10-5 to 10-1 sec-1 and in the temperature range 298° to 743°K the flow stress at a given temperature may be expressed as: C0 = Cem where m changes abruptly at a critical strain rate of 10-2 sec-1. The Zener-Hollomon parameter was tested and found to be invalid except at temperatures exceeding 700° K. Values of AH calculated for temperatures above 700°K ranged from 30 to 47.5 kcal per g-mole. ThE flow characteristics of aluminum and aluminum alloys as a function of temperature and strain rate have been of interest to various experimenters for many years. Trozera et al.1 determined tensile flow curves for pure aluminum and concluded that the combined effect of temperature and strain rate on the flow stress could be related using the Zener-Hollomon parameter. More recently, Hockett2 proposed a relationship between compressive flow stress, temperature, and true strain rate which could be represented by a surface. Holt et al.3 studied strain rate effects on flow stress in a number of aluminum alloys at room temperature. It was determined that there is a critical strain rate above which a strain rate effect is observed. It was also reported that the strain rate sensitivity was significant in aluminum alloys in the "0" condition only. In a recent review paper McQueen4 has considered a number of mathematical expressions which have been used to describe the relationship between stress, strain rate, and temperature. These expressions have been applied to the flow characteristics of a number of different metals and alloys including aluminum. In the present work the strain rate sensitivity of 7075-0 aluminum was determined in the temperature range of 298° to 743°K. The tensile flow stress at 0.2 pct offset was obtained over a nominal strain rate range of 10-5 to 10-1 sec-1. EXPERIMENTAL Threaded tensile specimens were cut from a single heat of 7075-T6 aluminum. The composition of this heat is given in Table I. The test bars had a gage section 1.5 in. long by 0.250 in. diam and conformed to ASTM specification E-8-57T. After machining, the bars were annealed at 413° ± 10°C for 2 hr. They were then cooled to 260°C in 3 hr, and finally air cooled to room temperature. This treatment is commonly used to produce the "0" condition. Load-time curves at constant crosshead speeds were obtained at various temperatures using an Instron testing machine. Crosshead speeds ranged from 0.002 to 40 in. per min. A three-zone resistance tube furnace was used for the elevated-temperature tests. Temperatures were measured at three points along the gage length by means of suitably placed thermocouples. Each tensile bar was held at temperature for 30 min prior to testing and the maximum temperature variation along the gage length was kept below 1°C. In all, 275 samples were tested and each data point plotted is an average of at least two tests. In many cases the point represents up to six tests. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Values of the flow stress at 0.2 pct offset at six different temperatures are plotted vs strain rate on log-log coordinates in Fig. 1. Over discrete ranges of strain rate, the data for each temperature fit the expression: