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Effects of pre-treatments on precipitate microstructures and creep-rupture behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

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Abstract

The effects of pre-treatments on the precipitate microstructures of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy are investigated. Meanwhile, the creep-rupture behavior of the under-aged and peak-aged alloys are comparatively analyzed. Additionally, the effects of pre-treatment on the fracture mechanisms are discussed. It is found that the precipitate microstructures are sensitive to pre-treatments. The intragranular precipitates of the peak-aged alloy are larger than those of the under-aged. The precipitate free zone of the peak-aged alloy is wider than that of the under-aged. Some large intergranular precipitates appear on the grain boundaries of the under-aged alloy, and induce the nucleation of microvoids. Eventually, the creep fracture of the under-aged alloy is accelerated. Therefore, the differences in microstructures lead to the shorter creep-rupture life of the under-aged alloy, compared to the peak-aged alloy.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation Council of China (Grant Nos. 51375502, 51305466), the National Key Basic Research Program (Grant No. 2013CB035801), the Project of Innovation-driven Plan in Central South University (Grant No. 2015CX002), the Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2016JJ1017), and the Graduate Degree Thesis Innovation Foundation of Central South University (Grant No. 2015zzts202).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Y. C. Lin, Ying Zhou, Ming-Song Chen, Ming-Hui Huang & Jin-Long Zhang

  2. Light Alloy Research Institute of Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Y. C. Lin, Zong-Wei Wang, Dao-Guang He & Ming-Hui Huang

  3. State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Changsha, 410083, China

    Y. C. Lin, Ming-Song Chen, Ming-Hui Huang & Jin-Long Zhang

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  1. Y. C. Lin
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Lin, Y.C., Wang, ZW., He, DG. et al. Effects of pre-treatments on precipitate microstructures and creep-rupture behavior of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy. Journal of Materials Research 31, 1286–1295 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2016.144

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