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Coupling Effect of Grain Structures and Residual Secondary Phases on Fatigue Crack Propagation Behavior in an Al-Cu-Mg Alloy

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Abstract

The effect of solution treatments at high temperatures on the microstructure and fatigue performance of an Al-Cu-Mg alloy was investigated. Microstructural observation revealed that large secondary phases could be dissolved sufficiently by a strengthening solution at 507 °C for 20 min and shortening the solution time at the high temperature would bring about a significantly grain refinement. The fatigue test showed that the sample treated by the solution at the high temperature for a short time (507 °C/6 min) possessed the lowest fatigue crack propagation (FCP) rates. This was mainly attributed to the combined effect of the reduced large residual secondary phases and the conspicuous grain refinement. Reducing the large secondary phases remaining by the high temperature solution treatment was beneficial to limit the bridging of cracks, and refining the grains with Goss orientation could induce more crack deflection, consequently enhancing the fatigue resistance.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for financial support from the National Key Research and development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB0300900), the National Key Fundamental Research Project of China (Grant No. 2012CB619506-3), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52001073) and the GDAS’ Project of Science and Technology Development (Grant No. 2020GDASYL-20200103138).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Peng Xia, Zhiyi Liu & Song Bai

  2. Guangdong Institute of Materials and Processing, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Peng Xia

  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Metal Toughening Technology and Application, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Peng Xia

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  1. Peng Xia
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Correspondence to Zhiyi Liu.

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Xia, P., Liu, Z. & Bai, S. Coupling Effect of Grain Structures and Residual Secondary Phases on Fatigue Crack Propagation Behavior in an Al-Cu-Mg Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 30, 2669–2679 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05626-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-021-05626-2

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