Modeling of strain hardening behaviors of 6061 aluminum alloy considering strain rate and temperature effects

This paper focuses on the plastic strain hardening behaviors of 6061 aluminum alloy (AA6061), considering its dependence on strain rate and temperature. Quasi-static tensile tests were conducted over a wide temperature range (20 °C-300 °C), and the digital image correlation technique was used to capture the deformation process of specimens. Additionally, the uniaxial compressive mechanical response of AA6061 was tested utilizing quasi-static compression and split Hopkinson pressure bar experiments over a wide range of strain rates (0.001 s−1–6000 s−1). Experimental results showed that the flow stress decreased and increased nonlinearly with temperature and strain rate, respectively. A modified Johnson–Cook (MJC) model was developed by incorporating a temperature-dependent strain softening term, along with corrections to the temperature and strain rate product terms, to reproduce the nonlinear dependence. Furthermore, the MJC model was proven to be able to accurately reproduce the deformation of the specimens tested in Taylor impact experiments (strain rates up to 105 s−1), suggesting its effectiveness for interpolating and extrapolating stress-strain relationships. This model provides applicable modeling for materials with nonlinear rate sensitivity and temperature sensitivity, and it is expected to be applied in engineering problems involving ultra-high strain rates.