Tensile behavior of 3104 aluminum alloy processed by homogenization and cryogenic treatment
(1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China)
University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China)
Abstract: The mechanical properties of 3104 aluminum alloy processed by different combinations of cryogenic and homogenization treatments were studied. The 3104 aluminum alloy processed by the cryogenic treatment followed by homogenization exhibited an enhancement in the tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation by 29%, 41%, and 11%, respectively, as compared with a sample processed by the conventional homogenization treatment. The stress–strain curve of the sample processed by the homogenization treatment exhibited the Portevin–Le Chatelier effect, whereas the sample processed by the cryogenic treatment did not. Further, the cryogenic treatment could accelerate the precipitation of secondary phase particles for the sample processed by a deep cryogenic treatment, followed by a homogenization treatment, which enhanced the dislocation pinning effect of the solvent atoms and thus improved the critical strain.
Key words: deformation; homogenization; cryogenic treatment; microstructure; Portevin–Le Chatelier effect