Aluminium Alloys: Microstructure, Properties, Heat Treatment, Forming and Welding

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 9803

Special Issue Editors

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, China
Interests: aluminium alloys; severe plastic deformation; microstructrure characterization; heat treatment; strength and ductility
National Innovation Center for High Performance Medical Devices (NMED), Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: severe plastic deformation; high-precision cold-drawing and tubing; heat treatment and biomedical applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aluminium alloys have low density and relatively high strength. With these advantages, Al alloys have been widely used in transport industry, especially automotive and aerospace. The increasing applications in Al alloys have the potential to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emission.

The main scope of this Special Issue of Metals is to reveal the relationship between the microstructures and properties of novel aluminium alloys fabricated by casting, forming, welding, plastic deformation, heat treatment, additive manufacturing and other new techniques. This Special Issue also intends to publish articles revealing fundamental theory on the strengthening, corrosion and thermodynamics of novel Al alloys during material design, fabrication and manufacturing processes. We welcome articles covering the atomic characterization of specific microstructures using advanced techniques. We invite you to contribute research works on improving the properties of aluminium alloys.

Dr. Ying Chen
Dr. Nan Hu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • aluminium
  • solute design
  • characterization
  • corrosion
  • manufacturing
  • modelling
  • thermodynamics
  • mechanical properties
  • physical properties

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 18875 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Heat Treating and Deformation by Rolling and Forging on the Mechanical Properties of the 4032-Type Alloy Prepared from Recycled Materials
by José Ivan Valencia de Lima, Francisco Alfredo García Pastor and Alfredo Flores Valdés
Metals 2023, 13(9), 1515; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13091515 - 25 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1417
Abstract
In the present work, the relationship between deformation, microstructure and mechanical properties of the Sr-modified 4032-type eutectic aluminum alloy was studied. The alloy was prepared from recycled materials, mainly from maritime and automotive 356 alloy scrap samples. Solubilizing heat treatment was carried out [...] Read more.
In the present work, the relationship between deformation, microstructure and mechanical properties of the Sr-modified 4032-type eutectic aluminum alloy was studied. The alloy was prepared from recycled materials, mainly from maritime and automotive 356 alloy scrap samples. Solubilizing heat treatment was carried out at a temperature of 450 °C with a holding time of 8 h. Finally, different samples were subjected to rolling and forging processes at a temperature of 450 °C, thus achieving a reduction of 25% of the original thickness. As expected, the microstructure and properties changed significantly due to the deformation processes, where an important factor was the change in the morphology of eutectic silicon, not only produced by the application of deformation, but also on the effect of adding strontium as a modifying agent. The samples were characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, where it was possible to observe not only the effect of strontium on the morphology of eutectic silicon but also the effect of the heat treatment performed. The tensile tests showed that there was indeed a notable increase in the ultimate tensile stress, yield strength, and resistance to fracture, while initial hardness also considerably increased. Finally, the fracture analysis showed that, after thermal treatment and deformation, all the samples analyzed presented a fracture within the ductile regime. It was shown that the combination of deformation and the addition of strontium led to improved globulization of the eutectic silicon. Full article
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16 pages, 6050 KiB  
Article
Precipitation Hardening of the Electrical Conductor Aluminum Alloy 6201
by Alyaqadhan Allamki, Majid Al-Maharbi, Sayyad Zahid Qamar and Farooq Al-Jahwari
Metals 2023, 13(6), 1111; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13061111 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2158
Abstract
Aluminum alloy 6201 is a wrought, heat-treatable alloy, which is used in electricity transmission and distribution lines. The alloy is processed in a commercial continuous casting and rolling system, which includes a series of in-line thermomechanical processes involving hot working, quenching, cold working [...] Read more.
Aluminum alloy 6201 is a wrought, heat-treatable alloy, which is used in electricity transmission and distribution lines. The alloy is processed in a commercial continuous casting and rolling system, which includes a series of in-line thermomechanical processes involving hot working, quenching, cold working and artificial aging. In this study and following cold working, the alloy is subjected to a solution heat treatment at 510 °C for an hour, quenched in ice water, and artificially aged at various temperatures for various times (150–200 °C for 2–30 h) (T6-temper) in order to investigate the effect of precipitation on mechanical properties and electrical conductivity. The results show that optimum mechanical properties and electrical conductivity were obtained after artificial aging at 155 °C for 30 h (155-30). The tensile strength was almost equal to that of the as received cold drawn wire of 326 MPa, but interestingly, electrical conductivity significantly increased to 58.6% IACS from a value of 52.7% IACS of the as received cold drawn wire. Intermetallic particles α-AlFeSi (Al8Fe2Si) and β-AlFeSi (Al5FeSi and Al9Fe2Si2) were observed in all samples, which were nucleated during solidification and homogenization; they were not affected by the aging process. β″/β′/β -precipitates formed during artificial aging, which affected the final mechanical properties and the final electrical conductivity. Full article
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16 pages, 4214 KiB  
Article
Clustering and Precipitation during Early-Stage Artificial Aging of Al–Si–Mg(–Cu) Foundry Alloys
by Sigurd Wenner, Constantinos Hatzoglou, Eva Anne Mørtsell and Petter Åsholt
Metals 2023, 13(3), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13030557 - 10 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2190
Abstract
High-Si aluminum foundry alloys are an important material class for products with complex 3D geometries where casting is the most suitable production method. With Mg and/or Cu additions, these alloys gain strength upon heat treatment due to the formation of nanoprecipitates. These precipitated [...] Read more.
High-Si aluminum foundry alloys are an important material class for products with complex 3D geometries where casting is the most suitable production method. With Mg and/or Cu additions, these alloys gain strength upon heat treatment due to the formation of nanoprecipitates. These precipitated phases are of the same kind as in the wrought Al–Mg–Si(–Cu) alloys having much lower Si contents, which have been the subject of a high number of studies. Some of these studies indicate that atomic clusters formed during storage at room temperature have a strong effect on the phases that evolve during artificial aging. In this work, foundry alloys containing Si, Mg, and Cu are investigated. Room-temperature storage is found to have a great influence on kinetics during early aging. Cu additions accelerate the formation of hardening precipitates during early aging, but 1 month of room-temperature storage negates the positive effect of Cu. The maximum achievable strength is found to be limited mainly by the solubility limits of Si and Mg at the solution heat treatment temperature. With insights derived from transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography results, this study contributes to the understanding of the solute balance and early aging kinetics and how wrought and foundry alloys differ in these respects. Full article
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15 pages, 14418 KiB  
Article
Research on Grain Refinement of Sc and Zr Addition in an Al-Mg-Zn Alloy from Experiments and First-Principles Calculations
by Tianyou Zhang, Lizhen Yan, Xiwu Li, Wei Xiao, Guanjun Gao, Zhihui Li, Yongan Zhang and Baiqing Xiong
Metals 2023, 13(3), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13030519 - 4 Mar 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1867
Abstract
The effect of trace Sc and Zr on grain refinement of Al-5.0Mg-3.0Zn as-cast alloy was investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with EDS. The results indicated that the critical quantities of Sc and Zr for Al-Mg-Zn alloy to produce a significant [...] Read more.
The effect of trace Sc and Zr on grain refinement of Al-5.0Mg-3.0Zn as-cast alloy was investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with EDS. The results indicated that the critical quantities of Sc and Zr for Al-Mg-Zn alloy to produce a significant refining effect were determined and the total mass fraction of Sc and Zr was not less than 0.27, and the mass fraction of Sc was more than 0.13. The average grain size of the as-cast alloy ranged from 30 to 44 μm. The as-cast microstructure refinement of the alloy was related to the number density of Al3(Sc, Zr) particles and the critical nucleation work of grains. Furthermore, based on first-principles calculations, the formation enthalpies of different Al3(Sc, Zr) particles and the interface stabilities have been theoretically discussed. The experimental phenomenon of increasing the particle number by the simultaneous addition of Sc and Zr was well explained. Thus, this investigation presented a better insight into the grain refining mechanism from experiments and theoretical calculations. Full article
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9 pages, 1997 KiB  
Communication
Roles of Sc and Ag Microalloying Elements in the Mechanical Properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu (Al7xxx) Alloy
by Sung-Jae Won, Hyeongsub So, Jung-Woo Han, Soong Ju Oh and Kyou-Hyun Kim
Metals 2023, 13(2), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020244 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1501
Abstract
In this study, we use microstructural investigation to examine the effects of Sc and Ag microalloying elements on the mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-based (7050) alloy. Macroscopically, Sc and Ag microalloying elements significantly reduce the formation of intermetallic particles of S (Al2CuMg) [...] Read more.
In this study, we use microstructural investigation to examine the effects of Sc and Ag microalloying elements on the mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-based (7050) alloy. Macroscopically, Sc and Ag microalloying elements significantly reduce the formation of intermetallic particles of S (Al2CuMg) and T (Mg32(Al, Zn)49) and of stable η (MgZn2) phase in Al7050 alloy. In addition, Sc microalloying element facilitates the precipitation of the η’ (MgZn2) hardening phase, while Ag microalloying element impedes the formation of the η’ (MgZn2) hardening phase. As a result, trace addition of Sc enhances the σUTS value of the Al7050 alloy from 552 MPa to 594 MPa without lowering the elongation of the Al7050 alloy (15.0% → 15.5%). In contrast, the tensile strength of the Al7050 alloy decreases from 552 MPa to 456 MPa with the addition of Ag microalloying element, while the elongation increases from 15.0% to 21.0%. Full article
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