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Annealing Effect of High-Density Pulsed Electric Current Treatment on Cold-Rolled 6061 Aluminum Alloy

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Abstract

The present study introduces a novel method of high-density pulsed electric current (HDPEC) as a substitute for the conventional annealing heat treatment process to relieve strain hardening in 6061 aluminum alloy (A6061) during the manufacturing process. The study investigates the effects of different HDPEC treatments on the strain-hardening relief of cold-rolled A6061, with a comparison to the traditional annealing heat treatment. The results reveal that the HDPEC-treated samples demonstrate a remarkable reduction of approximately 50% in strength and a considerable increase of approximately 200% in ductility, indicating complete strain-hardening relief of cold-rolled A6061. Consequently, the HDPEC treatment is faster and more efficient than the traditional annealing heat treatment. Furthermore, the HDPEC-treated samples display equivalent mechanical properties as the untreated ones after the final precipitation heat treatment, indicating that the HDPEC treatment has no detrimental effect on the materials. The microstructural characterization demonstrates that the HDPEC-induced microstructural modification through dislocation elimination and grain recovery leads to the strain-hardening relief of cold-rolled A6061. These findings suggest that the HDPEC treatment can even replace the hot-forming process of A6061, contributing to low-cost and high-efficient manufacturing.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Pioneering) 20K20531. The authors are also very grateful to Kobe Steel Ltd. and UACJ corporation for providing cold-rolled aluminum alloy sheets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Micro-Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8603, Japan

    Yu Xiaoming, Gu Shaojie, Yoon Sungmin, Kimura Yasuhiro, Toku Yuhki & Ju Yang

  2. Daian Works, Kobe Steel Ltd., 1100 Daiancho Umedo, Inabe, Mie, 511-0284, Japan

    Yu Xiaoming

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Xiaoming, Y., Shaojie, G., Sungmin, Y. et al. Annealing Effect of High-Density Pulsed Electric Current Treatment on Cold-Rolled 6061 Aluminum Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-023-08522-z

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