Effect of Si, Mn, Be and Sr Addition on the Tensile Properties of 6061 Type Alloys: Role of Aging Treatment
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Procedures
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. General Remarks
3.2. Tensile Properties and Microstructural Characterization
3.3. Q-Charts and ∆P
3.4. Fractography
4. Conclusions
- The main parameter controlling the type of Fe-based intermetallic phases which will precipitate in 6061 alloys is the Si/Fe ratio in such a way that a ratio of 1 will produce mainly the β-Al5FeSi phase, while a ratio of 2 will mainly result in α-Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2 particles. Increasing the solidification rate encourages the precipitation of α-Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2.
- Although 6061 alloy does not contain a sufficient amount of Si to form the Al-Si eutectic, the addition of Sr in the order of 200 ppm leads to fragmentation of Fe-based intermetallics, particularly during solution heat treatment.
- Addition of Be in amounts of 200–400 ppm results in:
- (a)
- fragmentation of α-Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2 phase particles during solidification;
- (b)
- precipitation of a new compound, α-Al8Fe2SiBe in the form of Chinese script, characterized by its spongy surfaces instead of the smooth surfaces of the α-Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2 phase;
- (c)
- possibility of porosity formation when Be is added in excess of 400 ppm.
- Increasing the Si from 0.8% (in the base alloy) to 1.5% increases the volume fraction of the precipitated Mg2Si phase particles coupled with a marked improvement in the alloy strength. In all cases, the UTS curve reveals two peaks corresponding to the formation of GP1 and GP2 zones.
- The combined addition of Si and Sr to the base alloy resulted in the best quality among the five studied alloys, whereas the addition of high Be (400 ppm) or Be + Sr produced an unpredictable behavior of the alloy quality.
- Alloys containing high Si (without or with Sr) revealed the highest contribution to the strength of the base alloy with continuous increase up to the peak-aging condition. In contrast, high Be-containing alloys revealed the lowest contribution.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Alloy | Alloying Elements (wt%) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Si | Fe | Cu | Mn | Mg | Cr | Ni | Zn | B | Be | Sr | V | Ti | Al | |
A | 0.81 | 0.38 | 0.003 | 0.004 | 0.844 | 0.003 | <0.005 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0 | 0.0009 | 0.004 | 0.018 | Bal. |
AS | 0.83 | 0.38 | 0.003 | 0.004 | 0.853 | 0.003 | <0.005 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0 | 0.0144 | 0.004 | 0.017 | Bal. |
B | 1.49 | 0.35 | 0.003 | 0.006 | 0.682 | 0.002 | <0.005 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0 | 0.0014 | 0.004 | 0.018 | Bal. |
BS | 1.49 | 0.334 | 0.002 | 0.004 | 0.859 | 0.002 | <0.006 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0 | 0.0163 | 0.004 | 0.019 | Bal. |
C | 0.82 | 0.34 | 0.002 | 0.198 | 0.806 | 0.003 | <0.005 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0 | 0.0002 | 0.004 | 0.017 | Bal. |
CS | 0.88 | 0.34 | 0.002 | 0.217 | 0.838 | 0.004 | 0.005 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0 | 0.0206 | 0.005 | 0.015 | Bal. |
D | 0.84 | 0.35 | 0.005 | 0.006 | 0.817 | 0.006 | 0.006 | 0.014 | 0.003 | 0.019 | 0.0038 | 0.007 | 0.016 | Bal. |
DS | 0.84 | 0.34 | 0.003 | 0.005 | 0.806 | 0.004 | <0.005 | 0.014 | 0.003 | 0.018 | 0.0147 | 0.007 | 0.019 | Bal. |
E | 0.88 | 0.39 | 0.002 | 0.004 | 0.883 | 0.001 | <0.005 | 0.013 | 0.004 | 0.040 | 0.0005 | 0.005 | 0.016 | Bal. |
ES | 0.87 | 0.39 | 0.003 | 0.005 | 0.597 | 0.009 | 0.006 | 0.013 | 0.003 | 0.040 | 0.0182 | 0.005 | 0.017 | Bal. |
Stage | Heat Treatment | Phases |
---|---|---|
I | None | Mostly precipitated as equilibrium CuAl2 phases |
II | Solution treatment and rapid cooling | All Cu in solution Most Mg phases in solution |
III | Natural aging at room temperature | Segregation into GP I zones (coherent) |
IV | Age hardening at 180 C | Dissolution of GP I zones Segregation into GP II zones (coherent) Precipitation of S’phase (CuAl2Mg) |
Further age hardening at 180 C | Increased diffusion into GP II zones and precipitation as θ phase (partially coherent) Precipitation of S′ phase (CuAl2Mg) Precipitation of β″ phase Precipitation of traces of Si | |
V | Overaging resulting from treatment time too long | Precipitated as θ phase, the equilibrium phase (incoherent) |
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Samuel, A.M.; Elsharkawi, E.A.; Abdelaziz, M.H.; Samuel, E.; Samuel, F.H. Effect of Si, Mn, Be and Sr Addition on the Tensile Properties of 6061 Type Alloys: Role of Aging Treatment. Materials 2023, 16, 1110. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031110
Samuel AM, Elsharkawi EA, Abdelaziz MH, Samuel E, Samuel FH. Effect of Si, Mn, Be and Sr Addition on the Tensile Properties of 6061 Type Alloys: Role of Aging Treatment. Materials. 2023; 16(3):1110. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031110
Chicago/Turabian StyleSamuel, Agnes M., Ehab A. Elsharkawi, Mohamed H. Abdelaziz, Ehab Samuel, and Fawzy H. Samuel. 2023. "Effect of Si, Mn, Be and Sr Addition on the Tensile Properties of 6061 Type Alloys: Role of Aging Treatment" Materials 16, no. 3: 1110. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031110