Hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of Be/2024Al composites

The high temperature compression test of Be/2024Al composites with 62wt% Be was conducted at 500–575°C and strain rate of 0.003–0.1 s⁻¹. The strain-compensated Arrhenius model and modified Johnson–Cook model were introduced to predict the hot deformation behavior of Be/2024Al composites. The result shows that the activation energy of Be/2024Al composites was 363.364 kJ·mol⁻¹. Compared with composites reinforced with traditional ceramics, Be/2024Al composites can be deformed with ultra-high content of reinforcement, attributing to the deformable property of Be particles. The average relative error of the two models shows that modified Johnson–Cook model was more suitable for low temperature condition while strain-compensated Arrhenius model was more suitable for high temperature condition. The processing map was generated and a hot extrusion experiment was conducted according to the map. A comparation of the microstructure of Be/2024Al composites before and after extrusion shows that the Be particle deformed coordinately with the matrix and elongated at the extrusion direction.