Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys

Samuel, Ehab; Nabawy, Ahmed M.; Samuel, Agnes M.; Doty, Herbert W.; Songmene, Victor; Samuel, Fawzy H.

doi:10.3390/ma15134511

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys

by

Ehab Samuel

¹,

Ahmed M. Nabawy

¹,

Agnes M. Samuel

^1,*,

Herbert W. Doty

²,

Victor Songmene

³

and

Fawzy H. Samuel

¹

Département des Sciences Appliquées, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 2B1, Canada

²

Materials Technology, General Motors Global Technology Center, Warren, MI 48093-2350, USA

³

Département de Génie Mécanique, École de Technologie Supérieure, UQ, Montreal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4511; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134511

Submission received: 26 April 2022 / Revised: 26 May 2022 / Accepted: 23 June 2022 / Published: 27 June 2022

(This article belongs to the Topic Metallurgical and Materials Engineering)

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Abstract

The present work investigated the effect of aging treatment on the microstructure and tensile properties of an Al-2%Cu base alloy containing various additions of Zr and other alloying elements. Aging was carried out at temperatures of 180–300 °C for different aging times at each temperature. The tensile properties indicated that Zr additions improved the strength of the base alloy, especially at high Zr levels at 180 °C. At the 220 °C aging temperature, however, while Zr addition did not have a beneficial effect on the alloy strength, the ductility was found to improve. Zr-Ti combined additions had a significant effect on the microstructure of the base alloy, as the morphology of the α-Al grains transformed into a non-dendritic morphology, and the grain size decreased sharply. These effects were at their maximum at 180 °C and 0.5 wt% Zr addition. Moreover, the Zr-containing alloys aged at higher temperatures, such as 220 °C and 240 °C, maintained a noticeably higher level of strength over the base alloy aged at the same temperatures. Quality index charts based on the tensile test data also reflected an improvement in alloy quality and strength with Zr-Ti combined additions.

Keywords: aluminum alloys; melt treatment; additives; heat treatment; tensile properties; Q-index

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MDPI and ACS Style

Samuel, E.; Nabawy, A.M.; Samuel, A.M.; Doty, H.W.; Songmene, V.; Samuel, F.H. Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys. Materials 2022, 15, 4511. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134511

AMA Style

Samuel E, Nabawy AM, Samuel AM, Doty HW, Songmene V, Samuel FH. Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys. Materials. 2022; 15(13):4511. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134511

Chicago/Turabian Style

Samuel, Ehab, Ahmed M. Nabawy, Agnes M. Samuel, Herbert W. Doty, Victor Songmene, and Fawzy H. Samuel. 2022. "Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys" Materials 15, no. 13: 4511. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134511

APA Style

Samuel, E., Nabawy, A. M., Samuel, A. M., Doty, H. W., Songmene, V., & Samuel, F. H. (2022). Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys. Materials, 15(13), 4511. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134511

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Effect of Zr and Ti Addition and Aging Treatment on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Al-2%Cu-Based Alloys

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