Effect of interrupted aging on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of 7A75 aluminum alloy

The effects of interrupted aging on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of 7A75 aluminum alloy extruded bar were investigated through various analyses,including electrical conductivity,mechanical properties,local corrosion properties,and slow strain rate tensile stress corrosion tests.Microstructure characterization techniques such as metallographic microscopy,scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)were also employed.The results indicate that the tensile strength of the alloy produced by T6I6 aging is similar to that produced by T6I4 aging,and it even exceeds 700 MPa.Furthermore,the yield strength increases by 52.7 MPa,reaching 654.8 MPa after T6I6 aging treatment.The maximum depths of intergranular corrosion(IGC)and exfoliation corrosion(EXCO)decrease from 116.3 and 468.5μm to 89.5 and 324.3μm,respectively.The stress corrosion factor also decreases from 2.1%to 1.6%.These findings suggest that the alloy treated with T6I6 aging exhibits both high strength and excellent stress corrosion cracking resistance.Similarly,when the alloy is treated with T6I4,T6I6 and T6I7 aging,the sizes of grain boundary precipitates(GBPs)are found to be 5.2,18.4,and 32.8 nm,respectively.The sizes of matrix precipitates are 4.8,5.7 and 15.7 nm,respectively.The atomic fractions of Zn in GBPs are 9.92 at.%,8.23 at.%and 6.87 at.%,respectively,while the atomic fractions of Mg are 12.66 at.%,8.43 at.%and 7.00 at.%,respectively.Additionally,the atomic fractions of Cu are 1.83 at.%,2.47 at.%and 3.41 at.%,respectively.

Evolution of mechanical properties,localized corrosion resistance and microstructure of a high purity Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy during non-isothermal aging

The evolution of mechanical properties,localized corrosion resistance of a high purity Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy during non-isothermal aging(NIA)was investigated by hardness test,electrical conductivity test,tensile test,intergranular corrosion test,exfoliation corrosion test,slow strain rate tensile test and electrochemical test,and the mechanism has been discussed based on microstructure examination by optical microscopy,electron back scattered diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy.The NIA treatment includes a heating stage from 40℃to 180℃with a rate of 20℃/h and a cooling stage from 180℃to 40℃with a rate of 10℃/h.The results show that the hardness and strength increase rapidly during the heating stage of NIA since the increasing temperature favors the nucleation and the growth of strengthening precipitates and promotes the transformation of Guinier-Preston(GPI)zones toη'phase.During the cooling stage,the sizes ofη'phase increase with a little change in the number density,leading to a further slight increase of the hardness and strength.As NIA proceeds,the corroded morphology in the alloy changes from a layering feature to a wavy feature,the maximum corrosion depth decreases,and the reason has been analyzed based on the microstructural and microchemical feature of precipitates at grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries.

Ultrahigh strength and improved electrical conductivity in an aging strengthened copper alloy processed by combination of equal channel angular pressing and thermomechanical treatment

In this paper,equal channel angular pressing and thermomechanical treatment was employed to improve the strength and electrical conductivity of an aging strengthened Cu-Ti-Cr-Mg alloy,and the microstructure and properties of the alloy were investigated in detail.The results showed that the samples deformed by the combination of cryogenic equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)and rolling had good comprehensive properties after aging at 400℃.The tensile strength of the peak-aged and over-aged samples was 1120 MPa and 940 MPa,with their corresponding electrical conductivity of 14.7%IACS and 22.1%IACS,respectively.ECAP and cryogenic rolling introduced high density dislocations,leading to the inhibition of the softening effects and refinement of the grains.After a long time aging at 400℃,the alloy exhibited ultra-high strength with obvious increasing electrical conductivity.The high strength was attributed to the synergistic effect of work hardening,grain refinement strengthening and precipitation strengthening.The precipitation of a large amount of Ti atoms from the matrix led to the high electrical conductivity of the over-aged sample.

Strength and ductility optimization of HPDC AlSi8MgCuZn2 alloys by modifying pre-aging treatment

Considering the components produced by high pressure die casting(HPDC)process usually with ultra-large sizes and complex morphologies,high temperature solid solution treatment is not a suitable method to further improve their mechanical properties.In this study,two-stage aging treatment with different pre-aging times was designed and employed to further improve the mechanical properties of HPDC Al8SiMgCuZn alloy.The characteristics of precipitates were evaluated by a transmission electron microscope(TEM),and the precipitation strengthening mechanism was discussed.The results reveal that the strengthening is mainly contributed by the precipitation ofβ″phase after two-stage aging,and the number density and size of the precipitates are significantly depended on the pre-aging time.The number density of precipitates is increased with the pre-aging time prolonged from 0 h to 4 h,and then decreases with the further increase of pre-aging time from 4 h to 6 h.The precipitates with the highest density and smallest size are observed after pre-aging for 4 h.After pre-aged at 100℃for 4 h and then artificial aged at 200℃for 30 min,the yield strength of 207 MPa,ultimate tensile strength of 325 MPa and elongation of 7.6%are achieved.

Effects of aging treatment processes on microstructures and mechanical properties of AZ63 casting magnesium alloy

The effects of three different aging treatment processes,namely single-stage,double-stage,and reverse double-stage aging treatment processes,on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the AZ63(Mg-6Al-3Zn-0.25Mn)casting magnesium alloy were investigated and compared.The results indicate that the microstructures of all the aged alloys under the three treatment processes are mainly composed ofα-Mg,Mg17Al12),and Al4Mn phases,indicating that the double-stage and reverse double-stage aging treatments have no obvious effect on the type of alloy phases.However,as compared with the single-stage and double-stage processes,the reverse double-stage process has a great effect on the quantity of the Mg17Al12phases.After the reverse double-stage aging treatment,which results in a stronger drive for decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution,the number of Mg17Al12phases precipitated in the grains significantly increases.In addition,as compared with the single-stage aged alloy,the tensile properties at room temperature for both the double-stage and reverse double-stage aged alloys are significantly improved.Among them,the reverse double-stage aged alloy achieves the highest tensile strength,yield strength,and elongation of 295 MPa,167 MPa,and 8.6%,respectively.

Effect of aging treatment on the precipitation transformation and age hardening of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloy

In this study, the precipitation transformation and age hardening of solution-treated Mg-9Gd-4Y-2Zn-0.5Zr(wt.%) alloy were investigated at different aging treatment parameters. The precipitation sequences of the alloy aged at 200℃, 250℃ and 300℃ are β’’(DO19) → β’(BCO) → β(FCC), β’’(DO19) → β’(BCO) → β_(1)(FCC) → β(FCC) and β(FCC), respectively. The streaks sequences of the alloy aged at 200℃, 250℃ and 300℃ are SF, SF → 14H-LPSO and SF → 14H-LPSO, respectively. For the alloy aged at 200℃ and 250℃, the increase in hardness with increasing aging time is contributed from the increase in precipitate volume fraction and the transformation from β’’ to β’ phase with basal → prismatic and spherical → spindle-like precipitate changes. The decrease in hardness after the peak-aging stage is attributed to the appearance of micro-sized β precipitates. Because of the smaller size of precipitates and the triangular arrangement of β’ precipitate, the hardness of the alloy aged at 200℃ is higher than that aged at 250℃. For the alloy aged at 300℃, the appearance of only micro-sized β precipitate and its coarsening with increasing aging time leads to the lowest hardness and an overall decrease in hardness with the aging time.

Effect of Solutionizing and Aging on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Warm-rolled 7075 Alloy

The effect of solution and aging treatments on microstructure and mechanical properties of warm-rolled 7075 alloy was investigated via optical microscope,electron backscattered diffraction,transmission electron microscopy and tensile tests.The 7075 alloy was subjected to solution treatments at 450℃for 1 h(ST1),490℃ for 1 h(ST2)and 1.5 h(ST3).Three aging routes were carried out on samples from ST2:one-step(A1),two-step(A2),and three-step aging(A3).The experimental results show mainly recrystallized equiaxed grains in ST1 and ST3 state but a combination of elongated and equiaxed grains in ST2 condition.Three aged alloys have similar microstructures of sample ST2 while the recrystallization frequency gets decreased after aging.The least recrystallization fraction occurs in A2 state.Three aged 7075 alloys all possess enhanced strength and plasticity.Precipitates characterization reveals the maximum strength is achieved in A2 sample as the matrix precipitates are composed mainly of smallηand manyη′phases.Aging route A2 appears preferable to other two aging conditions for attaining a pretty excellent combination of strength and plasticity.

Acceleration of aging behavior and improvement of mechanical properties of extruded AZ80 alloy through(10–12) twinning

The effects of pre-existing {10–12} extension twins on the precipitation behavior of an extruded AZ80 material during aging and on its mechanical properties after peak aging are investigated. The material containing {10–12} twins-which are formed by compression before aging(twinned material)-has a finer grain size and higher dislocation density than the extruded material. Although the peak hardnesses of the twinned and extruded materials are almost the same, the time to reach the peak hardness is considerably shorter in the former material than in the latter(4 h and 24 h, respectively). In the twinned material, the high dislocation density of the {10–12} twins promotes continuous precipitation, which results in the formation of numerous fine Mg17Al12precipitates within the twins in the early stage of aging.The formation of these continuous precipitates reduces the driving force for discontinuous precipitation, which consequently suppresses the formation and growth of coarse Mg17Al12precipitates at the grain boundaries. Despite its shorter peak-aging time, the 4 h-peak-aged twinned material shows higher tensile strength and elongation than the 24 h-peak-aged extruded material. These higher mechanical properties of the former material are attributed primarily to the presence of more abundant fine continuous precipitates, which are effective in strengthening the material, and less abundant coarse discontinuous precipitates, which can act as crack initiation sites. These results demonstrate that the introduction of {10–12} twins into wrought Mg–Al-based alloys can accelerate the Mg17Al12precipitation kinetics considerably and improve the strength and ductility of the peak-aged alloys simultaneously.

Effect of secondary aging on microstructure and properties of cast Al-Cu-Mg alloy

To obtain better comprehensive properties of cast Al-Cu-Mg alloys,the secondary aging(T6I6)process(including initial aging,interrupted aging and re-aging stages)was optimized by an orthogonal method.The microstructures of the optimized Al-Cu-Mg alloy were observed by means of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy,and the properties were investigated by hardness measurements,tensile tests,exfoliation corrosion tests,and intergranular corrosion tests.Results show that the S phase andθ’phase simultaneously exist in the T6I6 treated alloy.Appropriately increasing the temperature of the interrupted aging in the T6I6 process can improve the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Al-Cu-Mg alloy.The optimal comprehensive properties(tensile strength of 443.6 MPa,hardness of 161.6 HV)of the alloy are obtained by initial aging at 180℃for 2 h,interrupted aging at 90℃for 30 min,and re-aging at 170℃for 4 h.

Effect of Cd on matrix structure ordering and aging precipitation evolution in a Mg-Gd-Cd solid-solution alloy

The formation and evolution of Gd-rich precipitates companying with the matrix structure ordering in a Mg_(97)Gd_(2)Cd_(1)(at.%)solid-solution alloy aged at 200℃have been systemically investigated using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy(HAADF-STEM).The results show that Gd-rich precipitation dynamics during the aging treatment are noticeably affected by a continuous ordering transformation in the matrix.The ordering transformation process involving mainly re-distribution of Cd atoms was revealed to occur in the following way:random super-saturated solid solution(S.S.S.S.)→B19-type ordered domains→D019-type ordered domains.Four Gd(Cd)-rich precipitates,G.P.Ⅰ zone,G.P.Ⅱ zone,β′andβ_(1)phases,have been observed to be formed in sequence to coexist with the various ordered domains.Based on the HAADF-STEM characterization on the aging microstructures at different aging stages,it can be concluded that the Cd-addition and related matrix structure ordering can play significant roles in modifying the early-stage G.P.zone structure,altering the morphology ofβ′precipitates and promoting the forming ability of theβ_(1)precipitate.

Effect of solution treatment and aging on microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of NiTi shape memory alloy

As-received nickel-titanium （NiTi） shape memory alloy with a nominal composition of Ni50.9Ti49.1 （mole fraction,%） was subjected to solution treatment at 1123 K for 2 h and subsequent aging for 2 h at 573 K, 723 K and 873 K, respectively. The influence of solution treatment and aging on microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of NiTi alloy was systematically investigated by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, high resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and compression test. Solution treatment contributes to eliminating the Ti2Ni phase in the as-received NiTi sample, in which the TiC phase is unable to be removed. Solution treatment leads to ordered domain of atomic arrangement in NiTi alloy. In all the aged NiTi samples, the Ni4Ti3 precipitates, the R phase and the B2 austenite coexist in the NiTi matrix at room temperature, while the martensitic twins can be observed in the NiTi samples aged at 873 K. In the NiTi samples aged at 573 and 723 K, the fine and dense Ni4Ti3 precipitates distribute uniformly in the NiTi matrix, and thus they are coherent with the B2 matrix. However, in the NiTi sample aged at 873 K, the Ni4Ti3 precipitates exhibit the very inhomogeneous size, and they are coherent, semi-coherent and incoherent with the B2 matrix. In the case of aging at 723 K, the NiTi sample exhibits the maximum yield strength, where the fine and homogeneous Ni4Ti3 precipitates act as the effective obstacles against the dislocation motion, which results in the maximum critical resolved shear stress for dislocation slip.

Influence of aging on microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ80 and ZK60 magnesium alloys

The effect of aging on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ80 and ZK60 wrought magnesium alloys was studied with optical microscope and mechanical testers. The results demonstrate that both the tensile strength and elongation of AZ80 alloy increase firstly and then decrease as the aging temperature rises, the peak values appear when the aging temperature is 170 ℃ The hardness of ZK60 alloy increases firstly and then decreases as the aging temperature rises, and the hardness reaches its peak value at 170 ℃. However, the toughness of the alloy is just the opposite. Moreover, ZK60 alloy has good performances in both impact toughness and other mechanical properties at the aging temperature from 140 ℃ to 200 ℃.

Influence of Li addition on mechanical property and aging precipitation behavior of A1-3.5Cu-1.5Mg alloy

The influence of Li addition on mechanical property and aging precipitation behavior of Al-3.5Cu-1.5Mg alloy was investigated by tensile test,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and high resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）.The results show that the tensile strength can be significantly improved with the slightly decreased ductility and the form of fracture morphology is converted from ductile fracture into ductile/britde mixed fracture by adding 1.0%Li.Besides,the peak aging time at 185 ℃ is delayed from 12 to 24 h and the main precipitation phase S（Al2CuMg） is converted into S＇（Al2CuMg）＋δ（Al3Li）,while the formation of S＇（Al2CuMg） is delayed.

Distribution and evolution of aging precipitates in Al-Cu-Li alloy with high Li concentration

The evolution and distribution of the aging precipitates in 1460 Al-Li alloy with high Li concentration (2.14%, mass fraction) during T6 aging and two-step T8 (4% predeformation) aging were investigated through TEM. The aging precipitates include δ'(Al3Li) and T1 (Al2CuLi) phases, of which the δ' phases are formed first in grain interiors. A lot of δ'/GPI/δ' composite precipitates in which GPI zones are flanked with a pair of δ' phases, are formed at 145℃ of T6 aging, which are thermally stable. At 160℃ and 175℃ of T6 aging, many T1 phases nucleate first at subgrain boundaries and grain boundaries, and then form and grow within grains. As to the T8 aging, the δ'/GPI/δ' composite precipitates are formed during the first-step aging at 130℃ for 20 h, which are thermally stable during the second-step aging at 160℃. The plastic predeformation accelerates T1 nucleation within grains during the second-step aging at 160℃.

Influence of quench-induced precipitation on aging behavior of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

The effects of quenching and aging （T6, T7 and RRA） on the microstructural evolution of an A1-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy were investigated by hardness test, optical microscopy （OM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） measurements. It is found that the hardness of T6 aged sample after water-quenching is the highest. The quench sensitivities of T7 and RRA are almost the same, which are 1.2% higher than that of T6. TEM observation shows that the quench sensitivity for the studied alloy is mainly caused by heterogeneous precipitation during slow quenching. Many r/phases precipitate on A13Zr dispersoids inside recrystallized grains and at （sub） grain boundaries, while T and S phases form in the substructure with high density of dislocations and defects. After aging, the η＇ precipitates are coarser in the vicinity of equilibrium r/phase. However, the size and morphology of the precipitates show different characteristics among T6, T7 and RRA treatments. The DSC results are highly consistent with the TEM observation. The DSC curves of T6 aged samples are different from those of T7 and RRA aged samples, which also reflects the differences on the microstructure.

Effect of pre-deformation on aging creep of Al-Li-S4 alloy and its constitutive modeling

A set of uniaxial tensile creep tests at different pre-deformations, aging temperatures and stress levels were carried out for Al-Li-S4 alloy, and the creep behavior and the effects of pre-deformation on mechanical properties and microstructures were determined under basic thermodynamics conditions of aging forming. The results show that pre-deformation shortens the time of primary creep and raises the second steady-state creep rate. Then, the total creep strain is greater, but in the range of test parameters it is still smaller than that without pre-deformation. In addition, transmission electron microscopy（TEM） observation shows that pre-deformation promotes the formation of T1 phase and θ′ phase and makes them distribute more dispersively, while inhibits the generation of δ′ phase, which leads to the improvement of mechanical properties of the alloy. A unified constitutive model reflecting the effects of aging mechanism, stress levels and different pre-deformations was established. The fitting results agree with the experimental data well.

Effect of equal-channel angular pressing and aging on corrosion behavior of ZK60 Mg alloy

Commercial ZK60 Mg alloy was processed by multi-pass equal-channel angular pressing（ECAP） and subsequent aging to investigate the effect of grain refinement and second-phase redistribution on its corrosion behavior. Electrochemical tests show that the fine-grained samples after more ECAP passes have higher corrosion current densities（Jcorr） in the polarization curves, lower charge-transfer resistance（Rt） values in the EIS plots. The severe plastic deformation decreases the alloy corrosion resistance besides the well-known strengthening and toughening. Scanning Kelvin probe（SKP） measurement shows that the anodic and cathode sites are homogeneously distributed on the surface of the fine-grained alloy, which inhibits localized corrosion. The SKP potential, having linear relationship with the corrosion potential（φcorr）, decreases with increasing the ECAP pass. Furthermore, the post-ECAP aging can slightly improve the corrosion resistance of the fine-grained ZK60 Mg alloy and enhance the comprehensive performances, due to the stress relief and uniform distribution of second-phase particles.

Effects of external stress aging on morphology and precipitation behavior of θ'' phase in Al-Cu alloy

The exposure of Al-5Cu alloy to an external stress with normal aging was carried out. The effects of external stress-aging on the morphology and precipitation behavior of θ＂ phase were investigated by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and first principle calculation. The size of the θ＂ phase precipitated plates in stress-aging （453 K, 6 h, 50 MPa） is 19.83 nm, which is smaller than that of those present （28.79 nm） in stress-flee aging （453 K, 6 h）. The precipitation process of θ＂ phase is accelerated by loading external stress aging according to the analysis of DSC results. The apparent activation energy for the external stress-aging is 10% lower than the stress-free one. The first principle calculation results show that the external stress makes a decrease of 6% in the interface energy. The effects of the stress on aging process of the alloy are discussed on the basis of the classical theory. The external stress changes the morphology and precipitation behavior of θ＂ phase because the critical nucleation energy is decreased by 19% under stress aging.

Aging behavior and mechanical properties of 6013 aluminum alloy processed by severe plastic deformation

Structural features, aging behavior, precipitation kinetics and mechanical properties of a 6013 Al–Mg–Si aluminum alloy subjected to equal channel angular pressing （ECAP） at different temperatures were comparatively investigated with that in conventional static aging by quantitative X-ray diffraction （XRD） measurements, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and tensile tests. Average grain sizes measured by XRD are in the range of 66-112 nm while the average dislocation density is in the range of 1.20×10^14-1.70×10^14 m^-2 in the deformed alloy. The DSC analysis reveals that the precipitation kinetics in the deformed alloy is much faster as compared with the peak-aged sample due to the smaller grains and higher dislocation density developed after ECAP. Both the yield strength （YS） and ultimate tensile strength （UTS） are dramatically increased in all the ECAP samples as compared with the undeformed counterparts. The maximum strength appears in the samples ECAP treated at room temperature and the maximum YS is about 1.6 times that of the statically peak-aged sample. The very high strength in the ECAP alloy is suggested to be related to the grain size strengthening and dislocation strengthening, as well as the precipitation strengthening contributing from the dynamic precipitation during ECAP.

Precipitation orientation effect of 2124 aluminum alloy in creep aging

The precipitation behaviors of 2124 aluminum alloy under the conditions of artificial aging （AA）, creep aging （CA） and creep aging with pre-deformation （PCA） were investigated by means of mechanical property and microstructure. The results show that the mechanical properties of CA treated sample decrease significantly compared with AA treated sample. The yield strength of the CA treated sample falls by 14%, the tensile strength falls by 6.2%, and the elongation falls by 21%. Nevertheless, the mechanical properties of PCA sample are improved obviously, close to the AA treated sample. Moreover, the generation and control mechanisms of the precipitation orientation effect in 2124 aluminum alloy were studied. It is deduced that the key mechanism lies in the effect of dislocation.