Single-aging characteristics of 7055 aluminum alloy

The microstructures and properties of 7055 aluminum alloy were studied at different single-aging for up to 48 h using hardness test, tensile test, electrical conductivity measurement, XRD and TEM microstructure analysis. The results show that at the early stage of aging, the hardness and strength of the alloy increase rapidly, the peak hardness and strength are approached after 120 ℃ aging for 4 h, then maintained at a high level for a long time. The suitable single-aging treatment of 7055 alloy is 480 ℃, 1 h solution treatment and water quenching, then aging at 120 ℃ for 24 h. Under those condition, the tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and electrical conductivity of the studied alloy are 513 MPa, 462 MPa, 9.5% and 29%（IACS）, respectively. During aging, the solid solution decomposes and precipitation occurs. At the early aging stage of 120 ℃, GP zones form and then grow up gradually with increasing ageing time. η′ phase forms after ageing for 4 h and η phase starts to occur after 24 h aging.     

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 and θ′ 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 °C for 2 h, interrupted aging at 90 °C for 30 min, and re-aging at 170 °C for 4 h.

     

Creep aging behavior of retrogression and re-aged 7150 aluminum alloy

Creep aging behavior of retrogression and re-aged (RRAed) 7150 aluminum alloy (AA7150) was systematically investigated using the creep aging experiments, mechanical properties tests, electrical conductivity tests and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations. Creep aging results show that the steady-state creep mechanism of RRAed alloys is mainly dislocation climb (stress exponent≈5.8), which is insensitive to the grain interior and boundary precipitates. However, the total creep deformation increases over the re-aging time. In addition, the yield strength and tensile strength of the four RRAed samples are essentially the same after creep aging at 140 °C for 16 h, but the elongation decreases slightly with the re-aging time. What's more, the retrogression and re-aging treatment are beneficial to increase the hardness and electrical conductivity of the creep-aged 7150 aluminum alloy. It can be concluded that the retrogression and re-aging treatment before creep aging forming process can improve the microstructure within grain and at grain boundary, forming efficiency and comprehensive performance of mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of 7150 aluminum alloy.     

时效制度对Al-Cu-Mg-Ag-Zr合金组织和性能的影响

采用硬度、电导率、拉伸性能、撕裂性能等性能测试和差示扫描量热(DSC)、透射电镜(TEM)等分析方法研究单级时效和多级断续时效对高Cu/Mg比Al-Cu-Mg-Ag-Zr合金组织和性能的影响.结果表明与T6态合金相比,多级断续时效处理在保持合金强度、硬度和电导率同时,显著提高合金的断裂韧性;160℃单级时效过程中,Ω和θ′相同时析出;断续时效第一级和第三级时效的主要析出相与单级时效的类似,第二级低温时效过程中,θ′相明显析出,未出现明显的Ω相析出特征.     

Microstructure and Precipitate's Characterization of the Cu-Ni-Si-P Alloy

Microstructure of the Cu-Ni-Si-P alloy was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The alloy had 551 MPa tensile strength, 226 HV hardness, and 36% IACS electrical conductivity after 80% cold rolling and aging at 450 °C for 2 h. Under the same aging conditions, but without the cold rolling, the strength, hardness, and electrical conductivity were 379 MPa, 216 HV, and 32% IACS, respectively. The precipitates identified by TEM characterization were δ-Ni₂Si. Some semi-coherent spherical precipitates with a typical coffee bean contrast were found after aging for 48 h at 450 °C. The average diameter of the observed semi-coherent precipitates is about 5 nm. The morphology of the fracture surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy. All samples showed typical ductile fracture. The addition of P refined the grain size and increased the nucleation rate of the precipitates. The precipitated phase coarsening was inhibited by the small additions of P. After aging, the Cu-Ni-Si-P alloy can gain excellent mechanical properties with 804 MPa strength and 49% IACS conductivity. This study aimed to optimize processing conditions of the Cu-Ni-Si-P alloys.     

Retrogression and re-aging treatment of Al-9.99%Zn-1.72%Cu-2.5%Mg-0.13%Zr aluminum alloy

1 Introduction The 7000 series aluminum alloys have been widely used as aircraft structure material because of their high strength/density ratio. This series of alloys provide high strength in the T6 condition but are prone to stress corrosion cracking(SC…     

Effects of aging temperature on the precipitation behavior of Ω phase in an Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy

Microstructures and mechanical properties of an Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy aged for 1 h at temperatures in a range 25 °C to 450 °C were characterized in the present work by means of hardness tests, electrical conductivity measurements, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) was also employed to examine the precipitation behavior of Ω phase in a temperature range of 25 °C to 400 °C The in-situ Xray diffraction peak at 2θ = 26°–28° detected at elevated aging temperatures between 165 °C and 400 °C was attributed to the formation of Ω phase. TEM observations demonstrated the existence of Ω phase in the alloy when aged for 1 h at temperatures in a range 145 °C to 450 °C.     

Effect of thermomechanical treatment on microstructure and properties of Cu-Cr-Zr-Ag alloy

The effects of thermomechanical treatment on the properties and microstructure of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy and Cu-Cr-Zr-Ag alloy were investigated. Ag addition improves the mechanical properties of the alloy through solid solution strengthening and brings a little effect on the electrical conductivity of the alloy. A new Cu-Cr-Zr-Ag alloy was developed, which has an excellent combination of the tensile strength, elongation, and electrical conductivity reaching 476.09 MPa, 15.43% and 88.68% IACS respectively when subjected to the optimum thermomechanical treatment, i.e., solution-treating at 920°C for 1 h, cold drawing to 96% deformation, followed by aging at 400°C for 3 h. TEM analysis re-vealed two kinds of finely dispersed precipitates of Cr and Cu4Zr. It is very important to use the mechanisms of solid solution strengthening, work hardening effect as well as precipitate pinning effect of dislocations to improve tensile strength of the alloy without adversely affecting its electrical conductivity.     

多级热处理工艺对铝合金AA7049性能的影响(英文)

T6态高强7xxx系列铝合金对应力腐蚀开裂敏感。采用回归和再时效热处理(RRA)可以提高其抗应力腐蚀开裂性能而不降低其强度性能。研究了多级热处理工艺对7049铝合金性能和组织的影响。通过电导率测量、DSC分析和TEM组织观察,考察合金在不同热处理态的组织变化。DSC分析表明,RRA处理会导致合金的显微组织发生显著变化,RRA处理态合金的组织与T6和T73态合金的组织明显不同。RRA处理可以使合金保持在T6态的强度且获得T73态的热力学稳定性能。     

Enhanced strengthening by two-step progressive solution and aging treatment in AM50−4%(Zn,Y) magnesium alloy

AM50?4%(Zn,Y) alloy with a Zn/Y mole ratio of 6:1 was subjected to thermal analysis, and the results were used for designing a two-step progressive solution treatment process. The effects of solution and aging treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the AM50?4%(Zn,Y) alloy were investigated using OM, XRD, SEM/EDS, TEM, tensile test and hardness test. The experimental results demonstrated that the two-step progressive solution treatment could make the Φ and β phases sufficiently dissolve into the matrix which possessed higher supersaturated degree of the dissolved solute compared with the one-step solution treatment. This resulted in a certain enhancement of the precipitation strengthening effect during the subsequent aging process. The precipitation of the Ф phase had a greater impact on the comprehensive mechanical properties of the alloy than β phase precipitation when the aging treatment was performed at 180 °C. The peak aging strength of the AM50?4%(Zn,Y) alloy which was subjected to the two-step progressive solution treatment process (345 °C for 16 h and 375 °C for 6 h) was obtained after the aging treatment at 180 °C for 12 h.     

Corrosion behavior of novel Cu–Ni–Al–Si alloy with super-high strength in 3.5% NaCl solution

A novel Cu–6.5Ni–1Al–1Si–0.15Mg–0.15Ce alloy with super-high strength was designed and its corrosion behavior in 3.5% NaCl solution at 25 °C was investigated by the means of SEM observation, TEM observation and XPS analysis. The alloy after solution treatment, 80% cold rolling and aging at 450 °C for 1 h had the best comprehensive properties with hardness of HV 314, electrical conductivity of 19.4% IACS, tensile strength of 1017 MPa, and average annual corrosion rate of 0.028 mm/a. The oxides and chloride products formed at first, followed by the formation of dyroxides products. The alloy showed super-high strength, good electrical conductivity and corrosion resistant because Ni₂Si hindered the precipitation of large NiAl at the grain boundary and the denickelefication of the alloy.     

Investigation on strength,toughness and microstructure of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy pre-stretched thick plates in various ageing tempers

The 7B04 Al alloy is a precipitation hardenable, plate and forging material, which is widely used in China for strength critical aerospace structural applications. In this paper, fracture toughness, electrical conductivity and tensile properties of the alloy were investigated, and their dependence on ageing treatment details was described. Varying the heat treatment details strongly influences the microstructure and properties of the alloy. The alloy is identified to respond well to retrogression and reageing (RRA) temper. The retrogressing treated material at 180 °C for 1 h and then reageing for 22 h at 120 °C can achieve tensile properties comparable to a T6 condition as well as excellent conductivity. The high strength associated with optimized RRA conditions tend to result in relatively low levels of fracture toughness, but still slightly higher than T651 condition treated material. A correlation has been made among such properties, microstructure and fracture behavior, as characterized using TEM and SEM observations, and the results are discussed in the light of this relationship.     

Precipitation Hardening of Cu-3Ti-1Cd Alloy

Precipitation strengthening of Cu-3Ti-1Cd alloy has been studied using hardness and tensile tests, electrical resistivity measurements, and transmission electron microscopy. The alloy exhibited a hardness of 117 Hv in solution-treated (ST) condition and attained a peak hardness of 288 Hv after aging at 450 °C for 72 h. Electrical conductivity increased from 7%IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) in ST condition to 13%IACS on aging at 450 °C for 16 h. The alloy exhibited yield strength (YS) of 643 MPa and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 785 MPa in peak-aged (PA) condition. Strengthening in Cu-3Ti-1Cd alloy in PA condition is attributed to solid solution strengthening effect of cadmium (Cd) as well as fine scale precipitation of metastable and coherent β′-Cu₄Ti phase. On overaging at 450 or 500 °C, the alloy showed a decrease in hardness as a result of formation of equilibrium precipitate β-Cu₃Ti as continuous precipitation within the matrix and as discontinuous precipitation at the grain boundaries. While the tensile properties are better, the electrical conductivity of Cu-3Ti-1Cd alloy is less than that of binary Cu-2.7Ti alloy. The strengthening mechanism is the same in both binary and ternary alloys of Cu-Ti, i.e., precipitation of metastable and coherent β′-Cu₄Ti phase.     

Effect of T6-treatments on microstructure and mechanical properties of forged Al-4.4Cu-0.7Mg-0.6Si alloy

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hardness tests and tensile tests were performed to investigate the effect of aging on microstructure and mechanical properties of forged Al-4.4Cu-0.7Mg-0.6Si alloy. The results show that the alloy exhibits splendid mechanical properties with an ultimate tensile strength of 504 MPa and an elongation of 10.1% after aging at 170 °C for 16 h. With tensile testing temperature increasing to 150 °C, the strength of the alloy declines slightly to 483 MPa. Then, the strength drops quickly when temperature reaches over 200 °C. The high strength of the alloy in peak-aged condition is caused by a considerable amount of θ′ and AlMgSiCu (Q) precipitates. The relatively stable mechanical properties tested below 150 °C are mainly ascribed to the stability of θ′ precipitates. The growth of θ′ and Q precipitates and the generation of θ phase lead to a rapid drop of the strength when temperature is over 150 °C.     

预变形及时效处理对7055铝合金组织和性能的影响

通过拉伸试验、金相观察、X射线衍射以及TEM观察，研究了7055铝合金固溶处理后，经不同程度冷变形和时效后的力学性能和电导率的变化以及相应的微观组织变化特点。实验结果表明，对于冷变形再T6时效的7055铝合金，随变形量的提高，强度先略有上升，而后缓慢下降。RRA态合金强度随变形量增加而持续下降。随变形量的增加，冷轧态7055铝合金的电导率逐渐下降，而T6和RRA态合金的电导率却逐渐上升。在同样变形量条件下，RRA态合金具有最高的电导率。这些变化与变形引入的位错所产生的晶格畸变以及位错促进粗大平衡相析出有关。     

5A01铝合金铸造板坯均匀化处理

借助力学性能测试、金相显微组织观察、扫描电子显微组织观察和透射电镜观察等测试分析手段,研究均匀化处理对5A01铝合金铸态板坯显微组织和力学性能的影响。结果表明,经过不同均匀化处理后,该合金抗拉强度,屈服强度,伸长率都比铸态的有了明显提高。但不同均匀化条件下的合金的硬度、电导率、抗拉强度和屈服强度基本不变。提高均匀化温度,减小枝晶间距可加快均匀化进程,并且残余显微偏析指数随枝晶间距的减小呈平方衰减。     

时效制度对新型Al-Zn-Mg-Cu合金组织与性能的影响

采用X射线衍射、金相和扫描电镜等手段,结合力学性能检测和电导率测定,研究了单级时效和双级时效处理对铸态新型Al-Zn-Mg-Cu合金微观组织和综合性能的影响。结果表明:随时效温度的升高和时效时间的延长,晶粒尺寸缓慢增大,电导率逐渐增加。铸态新型Al-Zn-Mg-Cu合金最佳的单级时效工艺为135 ℃×12 h,此时合金的硬度为231.8 HV0.2、抗拉强度为568 MPa、伸长率为2.8%、电导率为33.7%IACS;最佳的第二级时效制度为155 ℃×4 h,此时合金的硬度为216.9 HV0.2、抗拉强度为558.7 MPa、伸长率为4.1%、电导率为35.2%IACS。     

扩展路径低温ECAP及时效热处理对Cu0.6Cr合金的组织和性能影响

采用光学显微镜和X射线衍射仪对Cu0.6Cr合金经低温扩展路径等通道转角挤压（ECAP）后的组织演变规律进行了研究。采用扫描电子显微镜和能谱仪研究了Cu0.6Cr合金经不同时效热处理条件后的晶粒大小、析出相分布规律和断裂特征。并且分别测试了合金经低温ECAP和低温ECAP+时效热处理后的抗拉伸强度、硬度和导电率。结果表明,Cu0.6Cr合金经低温ECAP变形后形成明显细化且相互交割的纤维组织,并且合金在变形中始终保持（111）面的择优取向。时效热处理的合金变形量越大,析出相的数目和尺寸就越大,第二相析出速率也越快。5道次合金经450 ℃时效2 h后的抗拉伸强度为568.1 MPa,维氏硬度为1624.8 MPa,导电率为82%IACS。     

快速获得7055铝合金淬火敏感温度区间的新方法及机理（英文）

采用一种省时、节约资源的变温热处理(ATHT)新方法，基于硬度与电导率，获得喷射沉积7055铝合金的淬火敏感温度区间。此外，通过透射电子显微镜(TEM)表征ATHT期间的显微组织演变。研究表明，7055合金的ATHT是一个溶质原子随着温度的升高而析出和再溶解的过程。当温度达到200℃时，合金的硬度急剧增加，电导率适当增加。随着温度升高到400℃以上，电导率从峰值迅速下降，表明溶质原子回溶加速，同时，在基体内η’强化相逐渐转变成η平衡相。通过对硬度曲线和电导率曲线的分析，得出当前合金淬火敏感性温度范围为200～400℃，这与传统分级保温法测得的结果一致。     

Al-6.8Zn-2.3Mg-2.0Cu-0.15Sc合金的高温回归再时效工艺

采用硬度计、数字涡流金属电导仪、透射电镜(TEM)、万能拉伸试验机、扫描电镜(SEM)等对Al-6.8Zn-2.3Mg-2.0Cu-0.15Sc合金在高温回归再时效(RRA)过程中的性能与组织演变规律进行研究。结果表明:合金在170 ℃回归时,具有较高硬度与优良的抗电化学腐蚀性能,合金170 ℃回归1 h时主相η′细小弥散数量众多,在形变过程中借助位错切过与Orowan机制强化合金,强度可达625.1 MPa,伸长率达9.6%,获得了优于单级时效(T6)G.P.区强化达到的强度592.4 MPa、伸长率6.5%,强度提高32.7 MPa,伸长率提高47.7%,拉伸断口形貌SEM显示为完全的韧性断裂特征。Al-6.8Zn-2.3Mg-2.0Cu-0.15Sc合金的优秀RRA工艺为140 ℃×24 h+170 ℃×1 h+160 ℃×24 h。