Abstract
The effect of forging parameters, including different forging stock, strain rate and strain, on the mechanical properties of hot-forged Al 6061-T6 was investigated. The forging was conducted using either hydraulic press, crank press or hammer press, respectively, at a forging temperature of $400^{\circ}C$. When using an extruded bar as a forging stock, the tensile strength was lower for the specimens prepared by hammer forging than those by crank press forging. It was found that the coarsening of recrystallized grain was responsible for the decrease in tensile strength with hammer forging. Systematic studies on the effects of strain and strain rate on the tensile properties of hot-forged Al 6061-T6 products using extruded bar as a forging stock further suggested that the coarsening of recrystallized grains and$ Mg_2$Si precipitates complexed the observed trends in the tensile behavior. In case of hot forging with continuous cast bar as a forging stock, on the other hand, the mechanical properties of the specimen were largely improved with hammer press compared to those with crank press, which appeared to be due to the homogenization of microstructure.
