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Microstructure and mechanical properties stability of pre-hardening treatment in Al–Cu alloys for pre-hardening forming process

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Abstract

The stability of the microstructure and mechanical properties of the pre-hardened sheets during the pre-hardening forming (PHF) process directly determines the quality of the formed components. The microstructure stability of the pre-hardened sheets was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), while the mechanical properties and formability were analyzed through uniaxial tensile tests and formability tests. The results indicate that the mechanical properties of the pre-hardened alloys exhibited negligible changes after experiencing 1-month natural aging (NA). The deviations of ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS), and sheet formability (Erichsen value) are all less than 2%. Also, after different NA time (from 48 h to 1 month) is applied to alloys before pre-hardening treatment, the pre-hardened alloys possess stable microstructure and mechanical properties as well. Interestingly, with the extension of NA time before pre-hardening treatment from 48 h to 1 month, the contribution of NA to the pre-hardening treatment is limited. Only a yield strength increment of 20 MPa is achieved, with no loss in elongation. The limited enhancement is mainly attributed to the fact that only a limited number of clusters are transformed into Guinier-Preston (GP) zones at the early stage of pre-hardening treatment, and the formation of θ″ phase inhibits the nucleation and growth of GP zones as the precipitated phase evolves.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52075400 and 52275368), the 111 Project (No. B17034), the Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province, China (Nos. 2021BAA200 and 2022AAA001), and the Independent Innovation Projects of the Hubei Longzhong Laboratory (No. 2022ZZ-04)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Longzhong laboratory, Xiangyang, 441000, China

    Liping Tang & Zhili Hu

  2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Automotive Components, School of Automotive Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Liping Tang, Pengfei Wei & Zhili Hu

  3. Hubei Engineering Research Center for Green & Precision Material Forming, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Zhili Hu

  4. Key Laboratory of Metallurgical Equipment and Control Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Machinery and Automation, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, China

    Qiu Pang

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  1. Liping Tang
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Correspondence to Zhili Hu or Qiu Pang.

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Tang, L., Wei, P., Hu, Z. et al. Microstructure and mechanical properties stability of pre-hardening treatment in Al–Cu alloys for pre-hardening forming process. Int J Miner Metall Mater 31, 539–551 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-023-2758-7

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