Deformation characteristic of semi-solid ZCuSn10 copper alloy during isothermal compression

The compression tests were carried out by Gleeble-1500 thermo-mechanical simulator with samples of semi-solid ZCuSn10 alloy prepared by strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) process. The original microstructure and the deformation temperature of semi-solid ZCuSn10 alloy are different. The strain is 0.2, and the strain rate is 1 s⁻¹ for the compression test. The results show that when the semi-solid ZCuSn10 alloy was prepared by SIMA process, the liquid fraction of semi-solid microstructure increases, and the solid grain is smaller, more uniform and more inclined to be round as the rolling pre-deformation increasing. The results also indicate that the deformation resistance of ZCuSn10 alloy in semi-solid state decreases with the deformation temperature increasing or the solid fraction of original microstructure decreasing. The stress–strain curves of the isothermal compression can be divided into quasi-elastic deformation stage and plastic deformation stage, and there are three deformation zones in the samples after isothermal compression, namely the difficult deformation zone, the large deformation zone and the free deformation zone. In the three deformation zones, the main deformation mechanism is flow of liquid incorporating solid particles (FLS) mechanism, plastic deformation of solid particles (PDS) mechanism and liquid flow (LF) combining with FLS mechanism, respectively.