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Effect of Double Aging on the Toughness and Precipitation Behavior of a Novel Aluminum-Lithium Alloy

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Abstract

Precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of a novel aluminum-lithium alloy were investigated during a double-aging treatment to obtain superior combination of strength and plasticity. The double-aging process, involving subsequent high to low temperature treatments, was applied to strengthen the alloy. Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the precipitation behavior of the alloy, while tensile and tear tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties. The results indicated that the samples double aged at (165 °C, 10 h) + (140 °C, 35 h) possessed a desired combination of strength, plasticity, and toughness. T 1 phases were observed to nucleate preferentially at the defects during the first (primary) aging step. During the second (secondary) step of aging, these phases grew further and promoted the formation of new precipitates. Compared to the single-aging treatment, the double-aging treatment effectively prevents coarsening of T 1, which is beneficial in improving the plasticity and toughness of the alloy.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Fund of National Engineering and Research Center for Commercial Aircraft Manufacturing (No: SAMC13-JS-15-032), Jiangsu Innovation Program for Graduate Education (KYLX_0259), The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Opening Project of Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Structural Materials and Application Technology, and Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Material Science & Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 211100, People’s Republic of China

    Huaguan Li, Yubing Hu, Juan Ling, Cheng Liu, Gang Tao & Jie Tao

  2. Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited, Shanghai, 200436, People’s Republic of China

    Zhonggang Sun

  3. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Structural Materials and Application Technology, Nanjing, 211100, People’s Republic of China

    Huaguan Li & Jie Tao

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  1. Huaguan Li
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  2. Yubing Hu
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  3. Juan Ling
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  4. Cheng Liu
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  5. Gang Tao
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  6. Zhonggang Sun
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  7. Jie Tao
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Correspondence to Huaguan Li.

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Li, H., Hu, Y., Ling, J. et al. Effect of Double Aging on the Toughness and Precipitation Behavior of a Novel Aluminum-Lithium Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 24, 3912–3918 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-015-1674-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-015-1674-z

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