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The formation of new (Al, Zn)3Zr precipitates in an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu aluminum alloy after aging treatment and their response to dynamic compression

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Abstract

This study mainly focuses on the newly developed (Al, Zn)3Zr precipitates through double aging treatment in an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy (Al alloy) and their response to dynamic compression. The results show that the strength of the Al alloy after aging treatment (393 K for 8 h + 433 K for 10 h) is increased with an increasing strain rate from 1.0 × 10−3 to 3.0 × 103 s−1 assisted by the strain hardening rate effect. The microstructures of Al alloy after the double aging treatment and dynamic compression at \(\sim\) 3.0 × 103 s−1 contain novel (Al, Zn)3Zr precipitate with LI2 ordered and tetragonal structures. The small inter-particle spacing of precipitates after double aging, solute diffusion during the aging treatment, and dynamic compression lead to the overlapping of the different precipitates. For instance, the overlapping of (Al, Zn)3Zr and θ′ precipitates is observed. The overlapped (Al, Zn)3Zr contains Cu solutes, while the θ′ precipitate contains Zr solutes assisted by solute diffusion through dislocations and the increase in temperature during the compression. Besides, the number and size of the platelet precipitates are also increased after the dynamic compression compared to the double aging treatment Al alloy. In this research, the newly observed (Al, Zn)3Zr precipitate after double aging treatment, and post-high strain rate compression is suitable for successfully tailoring the precipitation of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy and achieving optimum properties in the near future.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant Nos. 2021A1515012278 and 2022A1515010288), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51801128). Wei-Bing Liao would like to acknowledge the technical support from the Instrumental Analysis Center of Shenzhen University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Muhammad Abubaker Khan, Ghulam Yasin & Wei-Bing Liao

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Muhammad Abubaker Khan & Yangwei Wang

  3. Mechanical Engineering Program, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University, Giza, 12677, Egypt

    Mohamed A. Afifi

  4. Smart Engineering Systems Research Centre (SESC), Nile University, Giza, 12677, Egypt

    Mohamed A. Afifi

  5. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China

    Mohammad Tabish

  6. Institute of Advanced Materials, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

    Muhammad Hamza

  7. Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering and Emerging Technologies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

    Tahir Ahmad

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  1. Muhammad Abubaker Khan
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Correspondence to Yangwei Wang, Mohamed A. Afifi or Wei-Bing Liao.

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Khan, M.A., Wang, Y., Afifi, M.A. et al. The formation of new (Al, Zn)3Zr precipitates in an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu aluminum alloy after aging treatment and their response to dynamic compression. Archiv.Civ.Mech.Eng 23, 33 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43452-022-00571-w

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