Microstructure dependent electroplastic effect in AA 6063 alloy and its nanocomposites

The flow stress reduction during plastic deformation superposed with electric current, commonly referred as ‘electroplasticity’ has been actively researched over the past few decades. While the existence of an electron–dislocation interaction, independent of Joule heating is established, the exact rate controlling mechanism of the observed behaviour lacks consensus. Understanding the governing mechanism is complex due to the combined effect of Joule heating and electron–dislocation interaction. The present work attempts to establish the electroplastic mechanism in AA 6063 alloy and its nanocomposites. The role of microstructure on the electron interaction is investigated by preparing four distinct microstructure from the base alloy. All the samples were subjected to constant amplitude direct current during plastic deformation. The Joule heating effect is decoupled using the experimentally measured temperature history. The potential electroplastic mechanism for the alloy is elucidated by analysing the trend of flow stress reduction with strain and strain rate. It is inferred that micro Joule heating and electron wind effect cannot completely explain the observed electroplastic behaviour in AA 6063. The SiC particles in nano-composites suppressed the electroplastic effect. The observed mechanical behaviour under electric current is in agreement with the trend predicted assuming magnetic depinning mechanism. The reduction of dislocation density quantified using X-ray diffraction is found to concur with the inferred mechanism.