Al-4% Cu alloys are now widely used in many engineering applications especially in robotic, aerospace and vibration control area. The main problem arises from the weakness of their mechanical characteristics. Therefore, this study is directed towards enhancing the mechanical properties through severe plastic deformation, hence it is anticipated that cold direct extrusion process may enhance their mechanical behavior. This was performed through using three different cross sectional dies namely; circular, square, and rectangular that have the same cross sectional area. The general microstructure, microhardness, and compression tests were performed on each specimen produced before and after extrusion for Al and Al-4% Cu alloy. It was found that the maximum enhancement in mechanical behavior was achieved after extrusion through the rectangular shape for both Al and Al-4% Cu alloy at 0.2 strain by 143% for Al and 134.8% for Al-4%Cu wt.; similarly the hardness of both of them was improved where a maximum of 141.8 % was obtained for Al-4% Cu wt. in case of rectangular cross sectional die.
Complex interactions between precipitation, grain growth and recrystallization in a severely deformed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy and consequences on the mechanical behavior