Effects of Sc and Zr microalloying on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high Cu content 7xxx Al alloy

The effects of Sc and Zr microalloying on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a 7xxx Al alloy with high Cu content(7055)during casting,deformation,and heat treatment were investigated.The addition of Sc and Zr not only refined the grains but also transformed theθ-phase into the W-phase in the 7055 alloy.Minor Sc and Zr additions enhanced the hardness and yield strength of the 7055-T6 alloy by strengthening the grain boundaries and Al3(Sc,Zr)precipitates.However,a further increase in the Sc and Zr fractions did not refine the grains but instead resulted in the formation of the large-sized W-phase and primary coarse Al3(Sc,Zr)phase and subsequently deteriorated the mechanical properties of the alloys.The 7055 alloy with 0.25Sc addition exhibited the best mechanical property among the prepared alloys.

Mechanical properties and thermal stability of 7055 Al alloy by minor Sc addition

This study investigated the effect of 0.25 wt%Sc addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA 7055 alloy.The addition of Sc obviously refined the grains of AA 7055 alloy during casting,homogenizing,rolling,solution,and aging treatments due to the formation of primary and precipitate Al3(Sc,Zr)phase.The recrystallization and precipitation of AA 7055 alloy were inhibited during heat treatments by Sc addition.The Sccontaining AA 7055 alloy exhibited higher thermal stability than AA 7055 alloy during homogenizing treatment,because of the grain boundary pinning effect of nano-sized Al3(Sc,Zr)particles.Given its structure characteristics such as fine grains,fineη′phase,and lessηphase,AA 7055 alloy with added Sc showed good mechanical properties after aging at 120℃for 24 h,with an ultimate tensile strength(UTS)of 679 MPa and elongation(EL)of 14%.This work provides an effective strategy to fabricate AlZn-Mg(-Cu)series(7 xxx)alloys with excellent mechanical properties.