Effect of 3%Zn Addition on the Non-Isothermal Precipitation Behaviors of Al-Mg-Si-Cu Alloys

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2020.00529

Acta Metall Sin

2022, Vol. 58

Issue (3): 345-354 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2020.00529

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Effect of 3%Zn Addition on the Non-Isothermal Precipitation Behaviors of Al-Mg-Si-Cu Alloys

YUAN Bo¹, GUO Mingxing¹^,²(

), HAN Shaojie¹, ZHANG Jishan¹^,², ZHUANG Linzhong¹^,²

^1.State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
^2.Beijing Laboratory of Metallic Materials and Processing for Modern Transportation, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

Cite this article:

YUAN Bo, GUO Mingxing, HAN Shaojie, ZHANG Jishan, ZHUANG Linzhong. Effect of 3%Zn Addition on the Non-Isothermal Precipitation Behaviors of Al-Mg-Si-Cu Alloys. Acta Metall Sin, 2022, 58(3): 345-354.

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Abstract

To reduce the weight of a car body, Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys have been extensively studied for outer body panels of automobiles owing to their high strength-to-weight ratio, recyclability, and good formability. Moreover, the strength of Al-Mg-Si-Cu series alloys can be enhanced using the bake-hardening treatment. However, compared with steel, the formability and final strengths of the alloys need further improvement, which is a major challenge to the large-scale application of Al alloys in the automotive fields. In this study, the non-isothermal precipitation behavior of Al-0.8Mg-1.2Si-0.5Cu-0.3Mn-0.5Fe(-3.0Zn) (mass fraction, %) alloy was systematically investigated using DSC, TEM, tensile test, and hardness measurements. The results show that adding Zn can simultaneously increase the formation and redissolution of solute clusters in the alloys during low- and high-temperatures non-isothermal heat treatments and promote precipitation. The kinetic equations of precipitation in the two alloys were established based on the activation energy of precipitation obtained through DSC analyses and other material parameters, which can effectively predict the corresponding precipitation rates. Further, adding 3.0%Zn to the alloy can effectively increase the nucleation rate of the precipitates in the alloy during non-isothermal heat treatment, resulting in higher hardness. Additionally, with the increase of ageing temperature, the hardness increased gradually, but a hardness plateau appeared at approximately 100^oC, and the peak hardness values appeared at approximately 250^oC, followed by a decrease in hardness. TEM microstructural characterization showed that non-isothermal heat treatment could result in the formation of multiscale β'' precipitates in the two alloys in the peak ageing state. In comparison, adding Zn to the alloy increased the number density of the precipitates and significantly changed the lattice parameters of β'' phases formed in the peak aged alloy. Finally, based on the obtained microstructure and mechanical properties, the relationship between the precipitate distribution and microhardness of the two alloys was established.

Key words: Al-Mg-Si-Cu(-Zn) alloy non-isothermal heat treatment precipitation microstructure quantitative relationship

Received: 29 December 2020

ZTFLH:

TG146

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51871029);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFB0300801);Government Guided Program-Intergovernmental Bilateral Innovation Cooperation Project(BZ2019019);Opening Project of State Key Lab of Advanced Metals and Materials(2020-ZD02)

About author: GUO Mingxing, professor, Tel: (010)62332508, E-mail: mingxingguo@skl.ustb.edu.cn

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	Bo YUAN
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	Jishan ZHANG
	Linzhong ZHUANG

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2020.00529 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2022/V58/I3/345

Fig.1 DSC curves of the as-quenched alloys heated with the rate of 10^oC/min

Fig.2 GP zones formation peaks and dissolution peaks for solution quenched alloys, precipitate formation peaks, and their determination of activation energy (T—thermodynamic temperature, Y—volume fraction of excess solute precipitated at time t, f(Y)—implicit function of Y, φ—heating rate, n—constant)

Table 1 The kinetics of precipitation in different state in the 1# and 2# alloys

Fig.3 Curves of volume fraction (a) and hardness (b) of precipitates with ageing time for 1# and 2# alloys aged at 185^oC

Fig.4 Hardness curves of the 1# and 2# alloys during the non-isothermal ageing process

Fig.5 TEM characterizations of the as-quenched alloys 1# (a-c) and 2# (d-f) heat treated from 20^oC to 250^oC with a rate of 10^oC/min

Fig.6 The stress-strain curves of the two alloys in solution state

Table 2 The parameters used in the yield strength model

Fig.7 The relationship between yield strength and microhardness in the Al-Mg-Si-Cu(-Zn) alloys

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