Image-based mechanical analysis of multifilamentary microstructure formation in Al-Fe heavily deformed in-situ composites

It has been reported that nano-scale multifilamentary microstructure, which has been readily available in Al-Nb systems, was hardly realized in Al-Fe heavily-deformed composites systems. In the present study, state-of-the-art techniques are applied to gain basic insight into the necessary requirement for the texture development of the Al-Fe composites. Three-dimensional finite element meshes were generated to monitor local stress and strain distributions in real materials. The approach taken in this study may be characterized as new type of the reverse engineering which is based on the visualization of microstructural features of materials. It has been clarified that local stress elevation occurs where the Fe phase is constricted or gnarled with flection when cutting chips are used as a matrix. Hydrostatic stress varies significantly in the Fe phase thereby promoting the plasticity of the Fe phase. Both sufficient strengthening of aluminum and irregular distribution of the embedded Fe phase are identified essential for multifilamentary microstructure formation.