Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy
Effects of natural aging (NA) on artificial aging (AA) behavior of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu alloy were studied from the perspectives of kinetics and microstructure evolution. The results show that short-term NA (24 h) has marginal effects on AA at any temperature, as well as long-term NA (>240 h) on low-te...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423016381 |
| _version_ | 1797745190048366592 |
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| author | Chuan Lei Nannan Zhang Qudong Wang Mahmoud Ebrahimi Dezhi Li Huaping Tang Huisheng Cai |
| author_facet | Chuan Lei Nannan Zhang Qudong Wang Mahmoud Ebrahimi Dezhi Li Huaping Tang Huisheng Cai |
| author_sort | Chuan Lei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Effects of natural aging (NA) on artificial aging (AA) behavior of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu alloy were studied from the perspectives of kinetics and microstructure evolution. The results show that short-term NA (24 h) has marginal effects on AA at any temperature, as well as long-term NA (>240 h) on low-temperature AA (120 °C), but long-term NA can accelerate aging kinetics and alleviate severe hardening ability attenuation at high temperatures (>150 °C). Analysis of the precipitates evolution demonstrates that such attenuation is primarily attributable to coarsening and reduction of intragranular precipitates and is also slightly related to the formation of precipitate-free zone (PFZ). Three main factors cause the unfavorable microstructure in NA-free alloy at high temperatures AA: (1) Insufficient nucleation of intragranular precipitates induced by weakened nucleation driving force, larger critical nucleation radius, and rapid vacancy annihilation; (2) The nucleated precipitates are prone to coarsening; (3) The precipitation near grain boundary is obstructed due to the depletion of vacancies and solutes. Clusters formed during NA can inhibit the unfavorable microstructure by delaying the annealing out of excess vacancies, promoting the nucleation of precipitates, and elevating the activation energy for precipitation coarsening, thereby enhancing the hardening potential. This work is instructive for the formulation of heat treatment strategies for Al–Mg–Zn–Cu alloys with high Mg/Zn ratios. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:19:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a04c28a17eb4547980b797d563da5b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2238-7854 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:19:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a04c28a17eb4547980b797d563da5b62023-08-11T05:34:33ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542023-07-012571407153Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloyChuan Lei0Nannan Zhang1Qudong Wang2Mahmoud Ebrahimi3Dezhi Li4Huaping Tang5Huisheng Cai6National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Corresponding author.National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaWarwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UKJi Hua Laboratory, Foshan, Guangdong, 528255, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, ChinaEffects of natural aging (NA) on artificial aging (AA) behavior of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu alloy were studied from the perspectives of kinetics and microstructure evolution. The results show that short-term NA (24 h) has marginal effects on AA at any temperature, as well as long-term NA (>240 h) on low-temperature AA (120 °C), but long-term NA can accelerate aging kinetics and alleviate severe hardening ability attenuation at high temperatures (>150 °C). Analysis of the precipitates evolution demonstrates that such attenuation is primarily attributable to coarsening and reduction of intragranular precipitates and is also slightly related to the formation of precipitate-free zone (PFZ). Three main factors cause the unfavorable microstructure in NA-free alloy at high temperatures AA: (1) Insufficient nucleation of intragranular precipitates induced by weakened nucleation driving force, larger critical nucleation radius, and rapid vacancy annihilation; (2) The nucleated precipitates are prone to coarsening; (3) The precipitation near grain boundary is obstructed due to the depletion of vacancies and solutes. Clusters formed during NA can inhibit the unfavorable microstructure by delaying the annealing out of excess vacancies, promoting the nucleation of precipitates, and elevating the activation energy for precipitation coarsening, thereby enhancing the hardening potential. This work is instructive for the formulation of heat treatment strategies for Al–Mg–Zn–Cu alloys with high Mg/Zn ratios.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423016381Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu alloyNatural agingArtificial agingPrecipitation mechanismsPrecipitate-free zone |
| spellingShingle | Chuan Lei Nannan Zhang Qudong Wang Mahmoud Ebrahimi Dezhi Li Huaping Tang Huisheng Cai Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy Journal of Materials Research and Technology Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu alloy Natural aging Artificial aging Precipitation mechanisms Precipitate-free zone |
| title | Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy |
| title_full | Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy |
| title_fullStr | Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy |
| title_short | Effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu (wt.%) alloy |
| title_sort | effects of natural aging on the artificial aging kinetics and responses of al 5mg 3zn 1cu wt alloy |
| topic | Al–5Mg–3Zn–1Cu alloy Natural aging Artificial aging Precipitation mechanisms Precipitate-free zone |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423016381 |
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