The improvement of strength and ductility in ultra-fine grained 5052 Al alloy by cryogenic- and warm-rolling

The effects of deformation temperatures and post-deformation annealing on mechanical properties, in conjunction with microstructural evolution in the 5052 Al alloy, were investigated. The combination of cryogenic-rolling with warm-rolling effectively increased tensile strength and yield strength without the decrease of ductility through the formation of ultra-fine grains with dynamic recovery in the 5052 Al alloy. And static annealing, as a post-heat treatment, enhanced the ductility. Therefore, ultra-fine grained 5052 Al alloy with high strength and a moderate level of ductility could be made by the combination of cryogenic-rolling with warm-rolling and the additional static annealing process.