Aluminum alloys with identical plastic flow and different strain rate sensitivity

Mg-rich and Si-rich aluminum alloys from the AA6XXX class are considered to demonstrate that standard heat treatments can be used to produce materials with identical plastic flow (yield stress and strain hardening) and different strain rate sensitivity. The Mg-rich alloy exhibits lower strain rate sensitivity and a different variation of this parameter with the stress (Haasen plot) relative to the Si-rich alloy. This is due to the instantaneous component of the strain rate sensitivity being smaller in the Mg-rich alloy. Hence, the underlying mechanism is not related to the presence of free, fast diffusing Mg atoms, but rather to the different nature of precipitates forming in the two alloys. A simple model is used to demonstrate that it is possible to tailor the strain rate sensitivity while preserving the flow stress by controlling the nature of precipitates and that of the dislocation-precipitate interaction.