Precise Modeling of Thermal and Strain Rate Effect on the Hardening Behavior of SiC/Al Composite

Temperature and strain rate have significant effects on the mechanical behavior of SiC/Al 2009 composites. This research aimed to precisely model the thermal and strain rate effect on the strain hardening behavior of SiC/Al composite using the artificial neural network (ANN). The mechanical behavior of SiC/Al 2009 composites in the temperature range of 298–623 K under the strain rate of 0.001–0.1 s(−1) was investigated by a uniaxial tension experiment. Four conventional models were adopted to characterize the plastic flow behavior in relation to temperature, strain rate, and strain. The ANN model was also applied to characterize the flow behavior of the composite at different strain rates and temperatures. Experimental results showed that the plastic deformation behavior of SiC/Al 2009 composite possesses a coupling effect of strain, strain rate, and temperature. Comparing the prediction error of these models, all four conventional models could not provide satisfactory modeling of flow curves at different strain rates and temperatures. Compared to the four conventional models, the suggested ANN structure dramatically improved the prediction accuracy of the flow curves at different strain rates and temperatures by reducing the prediction error to a maximum of 4.0%. Therefore, the ANN model is recommended for precise modeling of the thermal and strain rate effect on the flow curves of SiC/Al composites.