Influence of dent on residual ultimate strength of 2024-T3 aluminum alloy plate under axial compression

Drop-weight impact tests were conducted on 2024-T3 aluminum plates with five types of impactors, and then the effects of the dent on the residual ultimate strength of the 2024-T3 specimens were investigated through axial compression tests. Results indicate that with increase in dent depth, the five types of dents affect the ultimate strength of the plate in different trends. Nevertheless, other than the plate global deflection caused by impacting, the dent itself has unremarkable effect on the ultimate strength. The mathematical expressions are derived regarding the relationship between impact energy factor and the dent depth factor as well as the compressive ultimate strength reduction rate and the dent depth factor.

Reverse deep drawability of 5A06 aluminum alloy plate at elevated temperatures

In order to avoid the occurrence of fracture at room temperature in reverse deep drawing of aluminum alloy plate, the warm reverse deep drawing method was proposed. The experiments were conducted at room temperature, 280 and 360 ℃ with a 4.5 mm thick 5A06 aluminum alloy plate. The effect of temperature, blank-holding force and gap on the fracture and wrinkle of the reverse deep drawing process was investigated. A fully coupled thermal-mechanical simulation was carried out to obtain the stress distribution through the commercial software of Abaqus/Explicit. The results show that the fracture is avoided at 280 ℃ since the bending-induced stress gradient in the transient area between the inside corner and the straight wall decreases from 505 MPa at RT to 72 MPa at 280 ° C. Although the fracture is avoided as the temperature increases, the wrinkle occurs at the outside die corner at temperature over 280 ° C, where the circumferential compressive stress becomes larger than that at the inside. As the temperature increases to 360 ℃, the fracture occurs due to the excessive softening, the tensile stress in the straight wall reaches rapidly to the tensile strength at the beginning of reverse deep drawing. When 1.5t （t=4.5 mm） blank holding gap is applied at 280 ℃, both the fracture and wrinkle can be avoided, and 420 mm deep cups are drawn successfully.

Construction and solution of strain model along thickness of aluminum alloy plate under plastic deformation

A thickness strain model of aluminium alloy plate under plastic deformation,based on thin plate assumption was proposed.It is found that when ratio of stress fractions is constant during in-plane loading,ratios of strain components under various loading conditions are linearly related and these points of ratios form a η-η line.Under these simple loadings,strains in thickness direction can be easily calculated by the η-η line equation without integral and differential work.When the plate is under more complicated loading conditions,the thickness can be computed by the proposed optimization and piecewise calculation model.Validation computations indicate that the relative error of the results of the presented model is less than 0.75% compared with the proven theories and FE simulation.Therefore,the developed model can be applied to engineering calculation,e.g.pre-stretching analysis of aerospace aluminium thick plate,with acceptable accuracy.

Influence of pre-stretching on quench sensitive effect of high-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy sheet

The influence of pre-stretching on quench sensitive effect of high strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy AA 7085 sheet was investigated by tensile testing at room temperature,transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC).The water-cooled and aged alloy exhibits higher strength than the air-cooled and aged alloy;2.5%pre-stretching of tensile deformation exerts little effect on strength of water-cooled and aged alloy but increases that of air-cooled and aged one,and therefore the yield strength reduction rate due to slow quenching decreases from about 3.8%to about 1.0%,reducing quench sensitive effect.For the air-cooled alloy,pre-stretching increases the sizes ofη'strengthening precipitates but also increases their quantity and the ratio of diameter to thickness,resulting in enhanced strengthening and higher strength after aging.The reason has been discussed based on microstructure examination by TEM and DSC.

Relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties of 5083 aluminum alloy thick plate

The microstructure and mechanical properties of 105 mm thick 5083 aluminum alloy hot rolled plate were investigated by metallurgical microscope, scanning electron microscope and tensile testing machine, and three major characteristic problems in mechanical properties inhomogeneity were explained. The results show that the mechanical properties of the rolled plate are inhomogeneous along the thickness direction. From the surface to the center, the strength shows an inverted "N" shape change and the elongation presents a semi "U" shape change. Several similar structural units composed of long fibrous grains(LFG) and short fibrous grains bands(SFGB) exist in a special layer(Layer 2) adjacent to the surface. This alternating layered distribution of LFG and SFGB is conducive to improving the plasticity by dispersing the plastic deformation concentrated on the boundary line(BL) between them. However, their different deformability will cause the alternation of additional stresses during the hot rolling, leading to the strength reduction. The closer the location to the center of the plate is, the more likely the recovery rather than the recrystallization occurs. This is the possible reason for the unnegligible difference in strength near the central region(Layer 4 and Layer 5).

MODIFIED LAYER REMOVAL METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT OF RESIDUAL STRESS DISTRIBUTION IN THICK PRE-STRETCHED ALUMINUM PLATE

The integrated structure parts are widely used in aircraft. The distortion caused by residual stresses in thick pre-stretched aluminum plates during machining integrated parts is a common and serious problem. To predict and control the machining distortion, the residual stress distribution in the thick plate must be measured firstly. The modified removal method for measuring residual stress in thick pre-stretched aluminum plates is proposed and the stress-strain relation matrix is deduced by elasticity theory. The residual stress distribution in specimen of 7050T7451 plate is measured by using the method, and measurement results are analyzed and compared with data obtained by other methods. The method is effective to measure the residual stress.

Ageing behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy pre-stretched thick plate

The ageing behavior of a pre-stretched thick plate of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy was systemically studied including one-step ageing, two-step ageing, and retrogression and reageing treatment （RRA）. One-step ageing of the alloy resulted in peak ultimate tensile strengths of 595 and 575 MPa after 22 and 6 h at 120 and 135°C, respectively. The strengthening phase in peak aged （T6 temper） alloy contained GP zones and the η′ phase predominantly. After two-step ageing, the electrical conductivity was increased markedly, but the pre-stretched thick plate sacrificed a great loss of strength. RRA treatment provided a method for maintaining the strength close to that obtained by T6 temper and for obtaining the high electrical conductivity close to that obtained by T7 temper; the ultimate tensile strength and electrical conductivity were 583 MPa and 21.0 MS/m, respectively. TEM analysis of T7 and RRA specimens revealed two types of precipitates that contributed to age strengthening i.e. the η′ and η phases.

Effect of pre-deformation of rolling combined with stretching on stress corrosion of aluminum alloy 2519A plate

The effect of the pre-deformation of rolling combined with stretching on the stress corrosion cracking resistance of aluminum alloy 2519A was studied by means of the slow strain rate technique at 10-6 s-1. The tensile strength and stress corrosion index of the alloy plate with 7% rolling plus 3% perpendicular stretching were 481 MPa and 0.0429, respectively, showing better mechanical property and stress corrosion cracking resistance than those with 4% rolling plus 3% parallel stretching or 7% rolling plus 3% parallel stretching, which is due to its finer and denser precipitates within the grains, discontinuous grain boundary precipitates, as well as more narrow precipitate-free zone width. Such microstructure is attributing to the denser and more homogeneously distributed dislocations which are produced by the pre-deformation.

Calculation and experimental study on heating temperature field of super-high strength aluminum alloy thick plate

Stepped heating treatment has been applied to aluminum alloy thick plate to improve the mechanical performance and corrosion resistance.Accurate temperature control of the plate is the difficulty in engineering application.The heating process,the calculation of surface heat transfer coefficient and the accurate temperature control method were studied based on measured heating temperature for the large-size thick plate.The results show that,the temperature difference between the surface and center of the thick plate is small.Based on the temperature uniformity,the surface heat transfer coefficient was calculated,and it is constant below300°C,but grows greatly over300°C.Consequently,a lumped parameter method(LPM)was developed to predict the plate temperature.A stepped solution treatment was designed by using LPM,and verified by finite element method(FEM)and experiments.Temperature curves calculated by LPM and FEM agree well with the experimental data,and the LPM is more convenient in engineering application.

Transverse stress-strain evolution during welding of thin aluminum alloy plate

The FE simulation results of transverse stresses and strains during welding of thin aluminum alloy plate are presented. The results indicate that restraint condition is the main factor that determines whether or not hot cracking will occur. With rigid restraint hot cracking (crater cracking) will occur at the arc-stopping end, and such cracking usually will not occur without external restraint. But under restraint-free condition it is easy for terminal cracks to occur.

Rotating extrusion technique and its effect on quality of aluminum alloy thin-plate weldments

A new technique named rotating extrusion was proposed that uses rotating extrusion action to rectify residual distortion of aluminum alloy thin-plate weldments to improve mechanical properties of welded joints. The basic principle and device of rotating extrusion were introduced. The residual distortion and stresses in rotating extrusion weldments were compared with those in conventional weldments. The differences in microstructure and mechanical properties between conventional welded joints and rotating extrusion welded joints were investigated and analyzed in order to make clear the effect of rotating extrusion on the performance of aluminum alloy weldments. Experimental results show that rotating extrusion can enhance the hardness and tensile strength of aluminum alloy welded joints evidently. This method has also potential effect on extending the life of welded structures.

Prediction model of residual stress field in aluminum alloy plate

Residual stress distributions in 7075 aluminum alloy thick plates with different thicknesses and different quenching speeds were measured. A shape function of stress distribution was proposed based on the internal stress distribution characteristics of aluminum alloy. Using nonlinear regression technology,the function between stress value of key points on internal stress curve and surface stress of the plate was obtained. Based on the measured surface stress,stress value of key points and stress distribution shape,the internal stress distribution can be reconstructed. The experiments show that the model is of good engineering practicality.

Residual stress in quenched 7075 aluminum alloy thick plates

The influence of quenching water temperature, pre stretching amount and aging temperature and times on residual stress in 7075 aluminum thick plate was studied by the measurement of residual stress using drilling hole method. The results indicate that residual stress decreases by 30% with increasing quenching water temperature from 40 ℃ to 80 ℃, 20% with increasing aging temperature from 100 ℃ to 180 ℃,and 20% with increasing aging times from 5 h to 25 h. Also, residual stress decreases to zero with increasing pre stretching amount to approximately 2%. Hence, residual stress in 7075 aluminum thick plate is reduced by the control of quenching water temperature at 80 ℃ and with pre stretching amount of about 2%. An optimal aging temperature and time should be systemically investigated to obtain combination of high mechanical performances and lower residual stress for manufacturing of 7075 aluminum alloy thick plates.

Modified Layer-Removal Method for Measurement of Residual Stress in Pre-stretched Aluminium Alloy Plate

Residual stress is one of the factors affecting the machining deformation of monolithic structure parts in the aviation industry. Thus, the studies on machining deformation rules induced by residual stresses largely depend on correctly and efficiently measuring the residual stresses of workpieccs. A modified layer-removal method is proposed to measure residual stress by analysing the characteristics of a traditional, layer-removal method. The coefficients of strain release are then deduced according to the simulation results using the finite element method （FEM）. Moreover, the residual stress in a 7075T651 aluminium alloy plate is measured using the proposed method, and the results are then analyzed and compared with the data obtained by the traditional methods. The analysis indicates that the modified layer-removal method is effective and practical for measuring the residual stress distribution in pre-stretched aluminium alloy plates.

Influence of melt pouring temperature and plate inclination on solidification and microstructure of A356 aluminum alloy produced using oblique plate

The preparation of semisolid slurry of A356 aluminum alloy using an oblique plate was investigated. A356 alloy melt undergoes partial solidification when it flows down on an oblique plate cooled from underneath by counter flowing water. It results in continuous formation of columnar dendrites on plate wall. Due to forced convection, these dendrites are sheared off into equiaxed/fragmented grains and then washed away continuously to produce semisolid slurry at plate exit. Melt pouring temperature provides required condition of solidification whereas plate inclination enables necessary shear for producing semisolid slurry of desired quality. Slurry obtained was solidified in metal mould to produce semisolid-cast billets of desired microstructure. Furthermore, semisolid-cast billets were heat treated to improve surface quality. Microstructures of both semisolid-cast and heat-treated billets were analyzed. Effects of melt pouring temperature and plate inclination on solidification and microstructure of billets produced using oblique plate were described. The investigations involved four different melt pouring temperatures (620, 625, 630 and 635 °C) associated with four different plate inclinations (30°, 45°, 60° and 75°). Melt pouring temperature of 625 °C with plate inclination of 60° shows fine and globular microstructures and it is the optimum.

Impact Damage Identification of Aluminum Alloy Reinforced Plate Based on GWO-ELM Algorithm

As a critical structure of aerospace equipment,aluminum alloy stiffened plate will influence the stability of spacecraft in orbit and the normal operation of the system.In this study,a GWO-ELM algorithm-based impact damage identification method is proposed for aluminum alloy stiffened panels to monitor and evaluate the damage condition of such stiffened panels of spacecraft.Firstly,together with numerical simulation,the experimental simulation to obtain the damage acoustic emission signals of aluminum alloy reinforced panels is performed,to establish the damage data.Subsequently,the amplitude-frequency characteristics of impact damage signals are extracted and put into an extreme learning machine(ELM)model to identify the impact location and damage degree,and the Gray Wolf Optimization(GWO)algorithm is employed to update the weight parameters of the model.Finally,experiments are conducted on the irregular aluminum alloy stiffened plate with the size of 2200 mm×500 mm×10 mm,the identification accuracy of impact position and damage degree is 98.90% and 99.55% in 68 test areas,respectively.Comparative experiments with ELM and backpropagation neural networks(BPNN)demonstrate that the impact damage identification of aluminum alloy stiffened plate based on GWO-ELM algorithm can serve as an effective way to monitor spacecraft structural damage.

Exfoliation corrosion behavior of 7050-T6 aluminum alloy treated with various quench transfer time

The exfoliation corrosion （EFC） behavior of 7050-T6 aluminum alloy treated with various quench transfer time after solution heat treatment was investigated by standard EFC immersion tests, strength loss measurements after EFC tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscope （EIS） technique. The results showed that EFC resistance of the alloy decreased with increasing quench transfer time. Backscattered electron scanning electron microscope （SEM） together with transmission electron microscope （TEM） observations revealed that the coverage ratio and microstructure of precipitates at grain boundary area are the most important factors which influence the EFC susceptibility of the alloy, while precipitate-free zone （PFZ） near grain boundary has no or only a minor effect on it. In addition, galvanostatic measurements of the alloy present a good correlation between EFC resistance and transients in potential. The cumulated number of transients in potential can be used to evaluate EFC resistance of the alloy.

Low temperature bonding of LD31 aluminum alloys by electric brush plating Ni and Cu coatings

Soldering of LD31 aluminum alloys using Sn-Pb solder paste after electric brush plating Ni and Cu coatings was investigated. The technology of electric brush plating Ni and Cu was studied and plating solution was developed. The microstructure of the coatings, soldered joint and fracture face were analyzed using optic microscopy, SEM and EDX. The shear strength of soldered joint could reach as high as 26.83MPa. The results showed that reliable soldered joint could be obtained at 230℃, the adhesion of coatings and LD31 aluminum alloy substrate was high enough to bear the thermal process in the soldering.

Influence of plate length and plate cooling rate on solidification and microstructure of A356 alloy produced by oblique plate

A356 alloy melt solidifies partially when it flows down on an oblique plate cooled from bottom by counter flowing water. Columnar dendrites are continuously formed on the plate wall. Because of the forced convection, these dendrites are sheared off into equiaxed/fragmented grains and then washed away continuously by producing semisolid slurry at plate exit. Plate cooling rate provides required extent/amount of solidification whereas plate length enables necessary shear for producing semisolid slurry of desired quality. Slurry obtained is solidified in metal mould to produce semisolid-cast billets of desired microstructure. Furthermore, semisolid-cast billets are also heat-treated to improve surface quality. Microstructures of both semisolid-cast and heat-treated billets are compared. The effects of plate length and plate cooling rate on solidification and microstructure of billets produced by using oblique plate are illustrated. Three different plate lengths（200 mm, 250 mm, 300 mm） associated with three different heat transfer coefficients（1000, 2000 and 2500 W/（m2·K）） are involved. Plate length of 250 mm with heat transfer coefficient of 2000 W/（m2·K） gives fine and globular microstructures and is the optimum as there is absolutely no possibility of sticking of slurry to plate wall.

Effect of deposition parameters on mechanical properties of TiN films coated on 2A12 aluminum alloys by arc ion plating (AIP)

TiN films were deposited on 2A12 aluminum alloy by arc ion plating (AIP). The Vickers hardness of the films deposited at different bias voltages and different nitrogen gas pressures, and that of the substrate were measured. The surface roughness of the TiN films diposited at –30 V and –80 V respectively and at different nitrogen gas pressure was measured also. The mass loss of TiN films deposited at 0 V, –30 V and –80 V respectively were analyzed in dry sand rubber wheel abrasive wear tests and wet ones in comparison with uncoated Al alloy and austenitic stainless steel (AISI 316L). It is revealed that the highest hardness of the TiN film is obtained at a bias voltage of –30 V and a N2 gas pressure of 0.5 Pa. The surface roughness of the film is larger at –80 V than that at –30 V and reduces as the increase of the N2 gas pressure. The mass loss of TiN-film coated 2A12 aluminum alloy is remarkably less than that of uncoated Al alloy and also that of AISI 316L, which indicates that the abrasive wear rate is greatly reduced by the application of TiN coating. TiN coating deposited by arc ion plating (AIP) technique on aluminum alloy can be a potential coating for machine parts requiring preciseness and lightness.