Modeling of the effect of the hot-deformation parameters on the strength of Al-base metal–matrix composites by the use of a radial-base function (RBF) network

Abstract Empirical models such as the power Arrhenius relationships or the relationships that depend on the Zener–Hollomon parameter have failed or been found to be followed only roughly when applied to composite materials. The reason may be the unclear mechanism of deformation in composites which comes from the input physical quantities that are thought to be the governing variables of the process. The aim of this investigation is to determine the physical quantities that affect the deformation process and to use them to predict the behavior of aluminium-based metal–matrix composites (MMCs) of the same composition under hot deformation. The two-layered RBF network structure with one hidden layer was used to evaluate the deformation process, to explore the input physical quantities that may govern the process, and to predict the behavior. In this approach, three schemes of different inputs were used. The first scheme contains the variables that concern the existing models without the activation energy, since this was questionable, the second contains the variables of the Zener–Hollomon parameter, while the third is the proposed scheme. The third scheme showed that the activation energy did not show a significant effect on the determination of the stress. Strain, strain rate, and temperature are found to be the only physical quantites that affect the process. The best agreement of the results of predictions with the experimental ones was found using the third scheme.