Simulation of evolution of microstructure in a thermo-mechanical analysis of the hot rolling of aluminium

A thermo-mechanical analysis of plane strain rolling has been developed to model the evolution of microstructure during hot rolling of aluminium. A hyperbolic sine constitutive equation has been incorporated and the Zener-Hollomon parameter or temperature compensated strain rate is used as the basis for microstructural modelling. Deformation and temperature were analysed respectively by a finite strain explicit dynamic relaxation method and an integrated finite difference method. Predicted subgrain sizes were compared with experimental values published in the literature and showed satisfactory agreement. Discrepancies in the through-thickness variation of subgrain size were probably due to inadequacies in the empirical relationships between the kinetics of recovery, subgrain growth and recrystallisation and the deformation and thermal histories.