Effect of TiB2 Particles on the Thermal Deformation and Recrystallization Behaviour of Al-Cu-Mg Alloys
Thermal compression experiments were conducted on Al-Cu-Mg alloys with varying TiB2 contents (0, 0.1, and 1 wt%) in the temperature range of 340–500 °C and strain rate range of 0.01–10 s−1. Arrhenius-type constitutive equations were formulated to characterize flow behavior, and microstructures of deformed alloys were analyzed. TiB2 particles markedly refine grains from 117 μm (0 wt% TiB2) to 35 μm (0.1 wt% TiB2) and 29 μm (1 wt% TiB2). Both grain size reduction and TiB2 presence contribute to increased flow stress during thermal deformation. Grain refinement induced by TiB2 addition enhances dynamic recrystallization (DRX) processes. Excess TiB2 (1 wt%) further stimulates DRX via particle-stimulated nucleation (PSN) mechanism. Addition of TiB2 effectively suppresses coarsening of recrystallized grains following thermal deformation. These findings elucidate the dual role of TiB2 particles in modulating thermal deformation behavior and recrystallization kinetics, providing a quantitative basis for optimizing thermomechanical processing of particle-reinforced Al-Cu-Mg alloys for aerospace and military applications.