Random Forest Approach in Modeling the Flow Stress of 304 Stainless Steel during Deformation at 700 °C–900 °C

The alloy 304 stainless steel is used in a wide variety of industrial applications. It is frequently applied in tough environments, such as those involving high temperatures, low temperatures, and corrosive environments. Hence, research on the flow stress behavior of the alloy during deformation under tough environments is critically important to achieving the maximum effectiveness in the application of the alloy. This research presents a study on the flow stress of 304 stainless steel during hot deformation at the temperatures of 700 °C–900 °C under the strain rates ranging from 0.0002/s–0.02/s. For this study, hot tensile experiments are conducted, and the flow stress variations of the alloy are studied with respect to the variations in the strain rate and temperature. Next, the stress behavior was modeled by the traditional Arrhenius-type constitutive equation and random forest algorithm. Then, the flow stresses predicted by different methods were studied by comparing errors. The results showed that the flow stress was modeled more accurately by the random forest algorithm.