Hot Deformation Behavior and Strain-Compensated Constitutive Equation of Nano-Sized SiC Particle-Reinforced Al-Si Matrix Composites

The hot deformation behavior of nano-SiCp/Al-Si composites was studied by isothermal compression tests at 470–530 °C and strain rates of 0.01–5 s(−1). A strain-compensation constitutive model was developed with a Z parameter and an Arrhenius function, and its accuracy was verified by error analysis. The results show that the flow stress of the composites decreased with the increase in deformation temperature and the decrease in strain rate. The average activation energy for nano-SiC particle-reinforced Al-Si matrix composites was 277 kJ/mol, which was larger than the activation energy for self-diffusion of pure aluminum. The average relative error was calculated as 2.88%, indicating the strain-compensated constitutive equation could accurately predict the hot deformation behavior of nano-SiCp/Al-Si composites.