The Influence of Aging on Industrially Cold Drawn Aluminum Alloy (6101) Used in the Electric Transmission Lines
An investigation has been done to study the effect of heat treatment at low temperature on the development of mechanical and electrical properties of the industrially cold drawn aluminum alloy wires (6101). This aluminum alloy is used by the national company of electric cables of Biskra (ENICAB) for the transmission lines of electrical energy. The mechanical and electrical properties of the Al-Mg-Si alloys can be changed by heat treatment. Different technical procedures have been used In order to understand the complicated effect of aging on 6101 aluminum alloy; we have used the optical microscopy, hardness measurements and the electrical resistivity measurement. It was noted that the cold drawing of this aluminum alloy increase the microhardness which is produced by a high strain hardening of the material accompanied by a development of a fibrous texture. We notice also that the electrical resistivity of the alloy increase with an increase of the deformation level and decrease of this properties with the increasing aging time at 170 ° C.