Evolution of Microstructure and Precipitates of Al-Mg-Si Alloy during Early Aging Process

doi:10.11901/1005.3093.2021.403

Chinese Journal of Materials Research

2022, Vol. 36

Issue (12): 926-932 DOI: 10.11901/1005.3093.2021.403

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Evolution of Microstructure and Precipitates of Al-Mg-Si Alloy during Early Aging Process

ZHENG Yaya¹^,²(

), LUO Binghui², BAI Zhenhai²

^1.Department of Materials Engineering, Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology, Loudi 417000, China
^2.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

Cite this article:

ZHENG Yaya, LUO Binghui, BAI Zhenhai. Evolution of Microstructure and Precipitates of Al-Mg-Si Alloy during Early Aging Process. Chinese Journal of Materials Research, 2022, 36(12): 926-932.

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Abstract

The evolution of hardening, microstructure and precipitate of Al-Mg-Si alloy during early artificial aging process were investigated by means of microhardness tester, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results show that the alloy aged at 170℃ has higher peak hardness. At the early aging stage, the high number of solute clusters and GP regions precipitated within grains, and the hardness of the alloy significantly increased. The hardness of the alloy reaches the peak value after being treated at 170℃ for 4 h, and the acicular β"-phase is the main precipitated phase within grains. The three-dimensional coherent strain at the interface between β"-phase and Al matrix is the main reason for the strengthening of the alloy. At the same time, the precipitated particulates distributed discontinuously along grain boundary. With the increase of aging time, the β"-phase coarsened and the continuity of the precipitated particulates decreased. During the over-aging stage, the hardness of the alloy is greatly reduced due to the severe coarsening and the decrease of number of the precipitates. At the initial stage of aging, the precipitation sequence of the alloy is as follows: supersaturated solid solution → spherical atomic clusters → needle-like GP region → needle-like β"-phase.

Key words: metallic materials Al-Mg-Si alloy precipitation behavior strengthening mechanism

Received: 14 July 2021

ZTFLH:

TG146.2

Fund: the Research Foundation of Education Bureau Hunan Province(22C0598)

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	Yaya ZHENG
	Binghui LUO
	Zhenhai BAI

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https://www.cjmr.org/EN/10.11901/1005.3093.2021.403 OR https://www.cjmr.org/EN/Y2022/V36/I12/926

Table 1 Basic summary of known precipitates in Al-Mg-Si alloy

Fig.1 Hardness variation of Al-Mg-Si alloys during ageing at different temperatures

Fig.2 TEM image of Al-Mg-Si alloys with different heat-treatment history (a) 140℃/20 min; (b) 140℃/60 min; (c) 140℃/300 min; (d) 170℃/20 min; (e) 170℃/60 min; (f) 170℃/300 min; (g) 200℃/20 min; (h) 200℃/60 min; (i) 200℃/300 min; (j) 140℃/600 min; (k)170℃/600 min; (l) 200℃/600 min

Table 2 Statistical calculation of the size and density of the precipitates in the alloy with different heat-treatment histores

Fig.3 DSC curves of the Al-Mg-Si alloys after heat-treatment at various conditions

Fig.4 HRTEM images of typical precipitate in the Al-Mg-Si alloy with different aging conditions and corresponding FFT pattern (a) 170℃/10 min; (b) 170℃/20 min; (c) 170℃/360 min; (d) 170℃/500 min

Fig.5 HRTEM images of the β" phase and corresponding FFT and IFFT pattern: (a) lying β′′ along [001]_Al; (b, c, d) embedded β" and the corresponding FFT and IFFT pattern

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