Study the Ductility of Aluminum Alloy Processed by Asymmetric Rolling Process

Asymmetric rolling refers to the conditions wherein velocities or diameters of two work rolls are different. Compared to symmetrical rolling, asymmetric rolling is more effective on microstructure modification and texture evolution. Intense shear deformation can be introduced into asymmetric rolling to enhance the ductility and formability of aluminum alloy and this is the aim of current research. The process of the asymmetrical rolling was done on specimens with different reductions (10%,15%, and 20% reductions). Then the tensile test was conducted at room temperature at the strain rate range between 0.33×10-3s-1 - 3.33×10-3s-1 to study the ductility property of the asymmetric rolling-deformed samples and also compared with as-received samples. The results show that the as-received specimen gave the highest elongation of 42.7%, while the lowest elongation of 22.4% was obtained by the (20%) thickness reduction specimen. Also, the as-received sample at an initial strain rate of 3.33×10-3s-1 gives the highest tensile strength value equal to 550MPa.

Cavity Behavior of Fine-Grained 5A70 Aluminum Alloy during Superplastic Formation

The study of the exact physical mechanism of cavity nucleation and growth is significant in terms of predicting the extent of internal damage following superplastic deformation. The 5A70 alloy was processed by cold rolling for 14 passes with a total reduction deformation of 90% (20–2 mm) and the heat treatment was inserted at a thickness of 10 and 5 mm at 340 °C for 30 min. The superplastic tensile tests were performed at 400, 450, 500, 550 °C and the initial strain rate was 1 10−3 s−1. Cavities were observed at the head of the particle and the interface of the grain boundaries. It is suggested that the cavity was nucleated during the sliding/climbing of the dislocations, due to the precipitate pinning effect and the impeding grain boundary during grain boundary sliding (GBS). In this study, the results demonstrated a clear transition from diffusion growth to superplastic diffusion growth and plastic-controlled growth at a cavity radius larger than 1.52 and 13.90 μm. The cavity nucleation, growth, interlinkage and coalescence under the applied stress during the superplastic deformation, as well as the crack formation and expansion during the deformation, ultimately led to the superplastic fracture.

Superplastic Deformation Behavior of As-Received and Hydrogenated Ti2AlNb Alloy

In this paper, the effects of temperature and initial strain rate on the superplasticity of as-received Ti2AlNb alloy were studied by uniaxial tensile tests. Temperature from 870°C to 1030°C with an interval of 40°C and initial strain rate range of 10-2s-1to 10-4s-1were selected. The optimal superplasticity of 190.3% was obtained at 990°C with initial strain rate of 10-3s-1. The superplastic properties were deteriorated at 1030°C due to serious grain coarsening. In order to improve superplastic properties, the as-received alloy was hydrogenated with different hydrogen contents. It was found that hydrogen addition can significantly decrease flow stress and increase elongation. A higher elongation occurs at 910°C in hydrogenated alloy.

Tensile Properties of AZX612 Magnesium Alloy Sheets Processed by Friction-Assisted Extrusion

Tensile properties at room and elevated temperatures of AZX612 alloy sheets processed by a kind of lateral extrusion method namely Friction-Assisted Extrusion (FAE) were investigated. The FAE was developed to control the texture, and carried out at temperatures ranging from 250 to 350°C with an extrusion ratio of 4 from the as-rolled condition. The results showed that FAE changes the basal texture of the as-rolled sheet into that inclined by about 15˚ against the extrusion direction and raises the intensity of the texture. It was observed that the significant microstructure refinement from as-rolled condition of 10.8μm to 4.7μm after FAE due to dynamic recrystallization at the extrusion temperature of 250°C. The 0.2% proof stress of the FAEed sheets at room temperature became significantly smaller than that of the as-rolled sheet in the extrusion direction but became larger in the transverse direction, resulting in the larger anisotropy. This can be understood by the activity of basal slip. The anisotropy of the tensile properties disappeared at a temperature of 300°C and an initial strain rate of 3.3×10-4s-1. In addition, the elongation was improved from 72% of the as-rolled sheet to 152% at maximum of the FAEed sheets in the extrusion direction. This improvement was attributable to superplastic flow based on grain boundary sliding.

Statistical Model for the Mechanical Properties of Al-Cu-Mg-Ag Alloys at High Temperatures

Aluminum alloys for high-temperature applications have been the focus of many investigations lately. The main concern in such alloys is to maintain mechanical properties during operation at high temperatures. Grain coarsening and instability of precipitates could be the main reasons behind mechanical strength deterioration in these applications. Therefore, Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys were proposed for such conditions due to the high stability of Ω precipitates. Four different compositions of Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys, designed based on half-factorial design, were cast, homogenized, hot-rolled, and isothermally aged for different durations. The four alloys were tensile-tested at room temperature as well as at 190 and 250°C at a constant initial strain rate of 0.001 s−1, in two aging conditions, namely, underaged and peak-aged. The alloys demonstrated good mechanical properties at both aging times. However, underaged conditions displayed better thermal stability. Statistical models, based on fractional factorial design of experiments, were constructed to relate the experiments output (yield strength and ultimate tensile strength) with the studied process parameters, namely, tensile testing temperature, aging time, and copper, magnesium, and silver contents. It was shown that the copper content had a great effect on mechanical properties. Also, more than 80% of the variation of the high-temperature data was explained through the generated statistical models.

Superplastic Behavior of an Al-Cu-Mg-Mn-Ag Alloy

The superplastic properties and microstructural evolution of a commercial Al-4.4%Cu-0.5%Mg-0.4%Mn-0.5%Ag-0.1%Ti alloy were examined under tension at temperatures ranging from 450 to 520°C and strain rates ranging from 6.9x10-5 to 6.9x10-2s-1. The refined microstructure with an average grain size of about 11m was produced in thin sheets by a commercially viable thermomechanical process. The highest elongation to failure of 540% was attained at a temperature of 500°C and an initial strain rate of 6.9x10-4 s-1 with the corresponding strain rate sensitivity coefficient of 0.55. The microstructural evolution during superplastic deformation of the aluminum alloy has been studied quantitatively. Processing at temperatures above 475°C and strain rate below 1.4x10-3s-1 resulted in fracturing almost without necking with cavitation playing a major role in the failure. In contrast, at low temperatures and/or high strain rates, fracture occurred in a ductile manner by localized necking. The relationship between superplastic ductility and microstructural evolution is analyzed.

Superplastic Behavior of Friction-Stir Welded Joints of an Al-Mg-Sc Alloy with Ultrafine-Grained Microstructure

The commercial Al-5.4Mg-0.2Sc-0.1Zr alloy was subjected to equal-channel angular pressing at 300°C to a true strain ~12 followed by cold rolling to a total thickness reduction of 80%. The ultrafine-grained sheets were joined by friction stir welding (FSW). To evaluate superplastic properties of the weldments, the tensile samples including all of the characteristic FSW microstructural zones were machined perpendicular to the welding direction and pulled up to failure in the temperature range of 400 to 500°C and at strain rates of 2.8×10-4 s-1 to 5.6×10-1 s-1. The friction-stir welded material exhibited excellent superplastic properties. The highest elongation-to-failure of ~1370% was recorded at a temperature of ~450°C and an initial strain rate of 5.6×10-2 s-1, where the strain rate sensitivity coefficient was about 0.64. The relationship between superplastic ductility and microstructure is discussed.

Effect of Rolling on Superplastic Behavior of an Al-Mg-Sc Alloy with Ultrafine-Grained Structure

The superplastic behavior of a commercial aluminum alloy denoted as 1570 Al with a chemical composition of Al-6%Mg-0.5%Mn-0.2%Sc-0.07%Zr (in wt. %) and ultrafine-grained (UFG) structure produced by equal channel angular pressing at 300°C to a true strain ~12 was studied after final cold or warm rolling. The tensile specimens were machined along rolling direction and pulled up to failure in the temperature range of 250 to 500°C at strain rates ranging from 10-4 s-1 to 10-1 s-1. The specimens produced by warm or cold rolling exhibit different superplastic behavior. The material subjected to warm rolling exhibits excellent superplastic properties; the highest elongation-to-failure of ~1970% was recorded at a temperature of ~450°C and an initial strain rate of 1.4×10-1 s-1. On the other hand, the material subjected to cold rolling demonstrates moderate superplastic properties; the highest elongation-to-failure of ~755% appears at a temperature of ~300°C and an initial strain rate of 1.4×10-2 s-1.

Superplasticity of an AA2519 Aluminum Alloy

A commercial AA2519 alloy with a chemical composition of Al-5.64Cu-0.33Mn-0.23Mg-0.15Zr (in wt. %) was subjected to two-step thermomechanical processing (TMP) providing the formation of fully recrystallized structure with an average grain size of ~7 mm in 3 mm thin sheets. Superplastic tensile tests were performed in the temperature interval 450-535°C and initial strain rates ranging from ~2.8 x 10-4 to ~6.0 x 10-1 s-1. The highest elongation-to-failure of ~750% appears at a temperature of ~525°C and an initial strain rate of ~1.4 × 10-4 s-1 with the corresponding strain rate sensitivity coefficient of ~0.46.

Superplastic Behavior of an AA2139 Subjected to ECAP

An AA2139 alloy belonging to Al-Cu-Mg-Ag system was subjected to thermomechanical processing (TMP) included solution treatment at 525°C for 1 h, quenching in water, over-aging at 380°C for 3 h followed by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) at 250°C to a total strain of ~12 via route BC. This TMP produced a partially recrystallized structure with fine crystallites having an average size of ~0.9 μm and a fraction of high-angle boundaries of ~56%. Tensile test was performed in the temperature interval 300-500°C at initial strain rates ranging from ~1.8×10-4 to ~1.7×10-1 s-1. It was shown that the highest elongation-to-fracture of ~660% appears at a temperature of 400°C and an initial strain rate of 1.4×10-3 corresponding with the coefficient of sensitivity coefficient, m, of 0.34.