Effects of cold rolling and heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of AA 5052 aluminum alloy
(1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China;
2. National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China;
3. Chongqing Academy of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401123, China)
2. National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China;
3. Chongqing Academy of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401123, China)
Abstract: The microstructures and mechanical properties of homogenized-rolled AA5052 aluminum alloys with different rolling reductions and following annealing treatments were investigated by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, micro-hardness and tensile tests. The results show that with increasing rolling reduction, the equiaxed grains are elongated along the rolling direction obviously, and accumulation of rolling reduction increases the work hardening effect, which results in the enhanced strength and degraded plasticity. When rolling reduction is 87%, the ultimate tensile strength reaches 325 MPa but elongation is only 2.5%. There are much more secondary phase precipitates after annealing treatment. With an increase of annealing temperature, the amount of precipitates increases and work hardening diminishes continuously. The elongation is improved to ~23% but the tensile strength is decreased to 212 MPa after annealing at 300 °C for 4 h, which are comparable to those of as-homogenized alloy.
Key words: AA5052 aluminum alloy; cold rolling; annealing; microstructure; mechanical properties