Abstract
In this research paper, the effect of the addition of copper (0.02 to 3.32 wt.%) on microstructure, mechanical and thermal properties of Al-Zn-Mg alloy are studied using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Vicker’s microhardness tester, universal testing machine (UTM) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Precipitates (η-MgZn2 phases) are present in as-cast Al-Zn-Mg alloy. SEM and XRD analyses have shown the presence of η (MgZn2) and θ (Al2Cu) precipitate in the as-cast Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy. Micro-Vickers hardness increases from 121.3 HV1 to 153.1 HV1 for the initial increase in copper content (0.02 to 1.54 wt.%) and then decreases to 137.3 HV1 (3.32 wt.% copper). The melting point decreases continuously with increased copper content from 619.8 °C (0.02 wt.% Cu) to 608.5 °C (3.32 wt.% Cu). Peak compressive stress, absorbed energy per unit volume, yield stress is observed to increase by 43.6%, 75.4%, and 59.3%, respectively, for the rise in copper content (0.02 wt.% to 1.54 wt.%) in the alloy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
L. Liu, Y.-Y. Jia, J.-T. Jiang, B. Zhang, G.-A. Li, W.-Z. Shao, L. Zhen, The effect of Cu and Sc on the localized corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg-X alloys. J. Alloys Compd. 799, 1–14 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.05.189
E.A. Starke, J.T. Staley, Application of modern aluminum alloys to aircraft. Prog. Aerosp. Sci. 32, 131–172 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1016/0376-0421(95)00004-6
J.K. Odusote, P.A. Ajayi, Mechanical properties and microstructure of recycled aluminum cast with zinc and copper additions. Int. J. Met. 10, 483–490 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-016-0060-4
S.-S. Wang, I.-W. Huang, L. Yang, J.-T. Jiang, J.-F. Chen, S.-L. Dai, D.N. Seidman, G.S. Frankel, L. Zhen, Effect of Cu content and aging conditions on pitting corrosion damage of 7xxx series aluminum alloys. J. Electrochem. Soc. 162, C150–C160 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0301504jes
Y. Chen, Z. Liu, S. Liu, H. Guo, J. Liu, X. Sheng, Effect of Cu on the hot tearing susceptibility of Al–6Zn–2.5Mg–xCu alloy. Int. J. Met. 15, 130–140 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-020-00438-x
H. Li, F. Cao, S. Guo, Y. Jia, D. Zhang, Z. Liu, P. Wang, S. Scudino, J. Sun, Effects of Mg and Cu on microstructures and properties of spray-deposited Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys. J. Alloys Compd. 719, 89–96 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.05.101
M.F. Ibrahim, A.M. Samuel, F.H. Samuel, A preliminary study on optimizing the heat treatment of high strength Al–Cu–Mg–Zn alloys. Mater. Des. 57, 342–350 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2013.11.078
B. Zhang, P.K. Liaw, J. Brechtl, J. Ren, X. Guo, Y. Zhang, Effects of Cu and Zn on microstructures and mechanical behavior of the medium-entropy aluminum alloy. J. Alloys Compd. 820, 153092 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.153092
X.-M. Li, M.J. Starink, Effect of compositional variations on characteristics of coarse intermetallic particles in overaged 7000 aluminium alloys. Mater. Sci. Technol. 17, 1324–1328 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1179/026708301101509449
Y. Liao, X. Han, M. Zeng, M. Jin, Influence of Cu on microstructure and tensile properties of 7XXX series aluminum alloy. Mater. Des. 66, 581–586 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.05.003
W.X. Shu, L.G. Hou, C. Zhang, F. Zhang, J.C. Liu, J.T. Liu, L.Z. Zhuang, J.S. Zhang, Tailored Mg and Cu contents affecting the microstructures and mechanical properties of high-strength Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 657, 269–283 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2016.01.039
J. Tang, J. Wang, J. Teng, G. Wang, D. Fu, H. Zhang, F. Jiang, Effect of Zn content on the dynamic softening of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys during hot compression deformation. Vacuum 184, 109941 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2020.109941
J. Tang, H. Zhang, J. Teng, D. Fu, F. Jiang, Effect of Zn content on the static softening behavior and kinetics of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys during double-stage hot deformation. J. Alloys Compd. 806, 1081–1096 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.07.332
X. Wang, M. Guo, J. Luo, J. Zhu, J. Zhang, L. Zhuang, Effect of Zn on microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys with a medium number of Fe-rich phase particles. Mater Charact 134, 123–133 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2017.10.012
M. Salarvand, S.M.A. Boutorabi, M. Pourgharibshahi, M. Tamizifar, Effect of cooling rate on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-zinc AA 5182 aluminum wrought alloy cast by the ablation green sand mold casting process. Int. J. Met. 15, 1464–1475 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-021-00578-8
V. Mote, Y. Purushotham, B. Dole, Williamson-Hall analysis in estimation of lattice strain in nanometer-sized ZnO particles. J. Theor. Appl. Phys. 6, 6 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/2251-7235-6-6
L.-M. Wu, W.-H. Wang, Y.-F. Hsu, S. Trong, Effects of homogenization treatment on recrystallization behavior and dispersoid distribution in an Al–Zn–Mg–Sc–Zr alloy. J. Alloys Compd. 456, 163–169 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2007.02.054
Y.-C. Chiu, K.-T. Du, H.-Y. Bor, G.-H. Liu, S.-L. Lee, The effects of Cu, Zn and Zr on the solution temperature and quenching sensitivity of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys. Mater. Chem. Phys. 247, 122853 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.122853
T. Wang, L. Yang, Z. Tang, C. Liu, Y. Ma, L. Wu, H. Yan, Z. Yu, W. Liu, Effect of aging treatment on microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of 7055 aluminum alloy prepared using powder by-product. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 822, 141606 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.141606
Y. Zhang, R. Li, P. Chen, X. Li, Z. Liu, Microstructural evolution of Al2Cu phase and mechanical properties of the large-scale Al alloy components under different consecutive manufacturing processes. J. Alloys Compd. 808, 151634 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.07.346
L. Stemper, M.A. Tunes, P. Oberhauser, P.J. Uggowitzer, S. Pogatscher, Age-hardening response of AlMgZn alloys with Cu and Ag additions. Acta Mater. 195, 541–554 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.05.066
Y. Alemdağ, T. Savaşkan, Mechanical and tribological properties of Al–40Zn–Cu alloys. Tribol. Int. 42, 176–182 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2008.04.008
A. Ghosh, M. Ghosh, A.H. Seikh, N.H. Alharthi, Phase transformation and dispersoid evolution for Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy containing Sn during homogenisation. J. Mater. Res. Technol. 9, 1–12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2019.08.055
A. Woźnicki, B. Leszczyńska-Madej, G. Włoch, J. Grzyb, J. Madura, D. Leśniak, Homogenization of 7075 and 7049 aluminium alloys intended for extrusion welding. Metals. 11, 338 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020338
J. Zhao, Y. Deng, J. Tang, J. Zhang, Influence of strain rate on hot deformation behavior and recrystallization behavior under isothermal compression of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy. J. Alloys Compd. 809, 151788 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.151788
H. Zhang, N. Jin, J. Chen, Hot deformation behavior of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr aluminum alloys during compression at elevated temperature. Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China 21, 437–442 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1003-6326(11)60733-4
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of the authors, the corresponding author states that there are no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Patel, N., Pradhan, A.K. Influence of Copper Addition on Microstructure, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Al-Zn-Mg Alloys. Inter Metalcast (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-023-01214-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-023-01214-3