Materials data handbook, aluminum alloy 7075
Materials data handbook on 7075 aluminum alloy
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Materials data handbook on 7075 aluminum alloy
Fairmount Technologies (FT) seeks to optimize the thermomechanical processing of Aluminum Alloy 7075. The target yield strength is 20% higher than commercially available 7075-T6 temper sheet which will enable structural light weighting by a similar magnitude and reduce the carbon footprint of the transportation sector. To reduce processing cost and make this commercially viable, it is important to understand physical mechanisms driving microstructural changes. A mesoscale phase-field model seeded with experimentally measured microstructures and assessed thermodynamic and kinetic properties will be developed and exercised using HPC at PNNL. It will account for the effect of deformation, temperature, and chemistry on precipitation kinetics in nanocrystalline microstructures. Our objective is to understand this “stress-aging” coupling by performing parametric simulations with mesoscale models for a better understanding of GP zone and η' formation in nanocrystalline 7075 Al. This will help FT optimize processing schedules to achieve desired microstructures that increase both strength and ductility.
Materials data handbook on aluminum alloy 7075 includes data on the properties of the alloy at cryogenic, ambient, and elevated temperatures, and other pertinent engineering information required for the design and fabrication of components and equipment utilizing this alloy.
Conventional extrusion of aluminum alloy 7075 is limited to 1-2 meters per minute in order to avoid surface tearing and cracking. An emerging technique called Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) was used to extrude aluminum alloy 7075 tubing at a speed of 7.4 meters per minute without inducing surface defects. The faster extrusion speed is attributed to the unique flow characteristics inherent to the ShAPE process compared to conventional extrusion. Tubes with an inner diameter of 10 mm, outer diameter of 12 mm, and length of 2 meters were extruded at temperatures ranging from 340°C to 466°C. Tensile testing was performed per ASTM B557-15 with strain measured using digital image correlation. An ultimate tensile strength of 565 ± 4.6 MPa, yield strength of 496 ± 8.7 MPa, and elongation of 16.4 ± 1.0 % were measured for extrusion made at 362°C and heat treated to the T6 condition.
This magazine article highlights results for high speed extrusion of aluminum alloy 7075 billets (homogenized and un-homogenized) by ShAPE. Extruded tubing has a 12 mm diameter and wall thickness. Speeds up to 12.2 meters/min are reported along with mechanical test results and microstructural characterization.
Various aspects of stress-corrosion cracking in 7075 aluminum alloy are discussed. A model is proposed in which the continuous anodic path along which the metal is preferentially attacked consists of two phases which alternate as anodes.
A summary of the materials property information on aluminum alloy 7075 is presented. The scope of the information includes physical and mechanical properties of the alloy at cryogenic, ambient, and elevated temperatures. Information on material procurement, metallurgy, corrosion, environmental effects, fabrication, and joining techniques is developed.
Explosive deformation effect on stress-corrosion and mechanical properties of 7075 aluminum alloy
The effect of laser generated stress waves on the microstructure, hardness, strength and stress corrosion resistance of 2024 and 7075 aluminum alloys was investigated. Pulsed CO2 and neodymium-glass lasers were used to determine the effect of wavelength and pulse duration on pressure generation and material property changes. No changes in material properties were observed with CO2 laser. The strength and hardness of 2024-T351 and the strength of 7075-T73 aluminum alloys were substantially improved by the stress wave environments generated with the neodymium-glass laser. The mechanical properties of 2024-T851 and 7075-T651 were unchanged by the laser treatment. The correlation of the laser shock data with published results of flyer plate experiments demonstrated that a threshold pressure needed to be exceeded before strengthening and hardening could occur. Peak pressures generated by the pulsed laser source were less than 7.0 GPa which was below the threshold pressure required to change the mechanical properties of 2024-T851 and 7075-T651. Corrosion studies indicated that laser shocking increased the resistance to local attack in 2024-T351 and 7075-T651.
Shear assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE) was used to extrude aluminum alloy 7075 tubing at speeds up to 12.2 m/min. This is in comparison to 2.0 m/min which is generally the limit for conventionally extruded 7075. The increased speed is primarily attributed to more extensive shear deformation, compared to conventional extrusion, which results in a high density of low angle grain boundaries that facilitate continued deformation and delay the onset of surface tearing. Mechanical testing after heat treating to the T6 condition gave an ultimate tensile strength of 565.3 ± 4.6 MPa, yield strength of 495.7 ± 8.7 MPa, and elongation of 16.8 ± 0.8%. Strength values exceed the ASTM minimum standard and are on par with ASM typical values, while elongation was substantially improved compared to 7 and 11% for the ASTM and ASM values respectively. Finally, it was observed that low temperature extrusion at 341 °C and 40 rpm gave superior material properties in the T6 condition compared to high temperature extrusion at 441 °C and 120 rpm due to variances in nanoscale second phase size and distribution.
Transmission electron microscopy structural analysis of dislocations in stress-corrosion cracking of 7075 aluminum alloy
The most common aluminum alloys utilized in the aerospace industry are 7075 and 2024 due to their high strength-to-weight ratio compared to advanced high strength steels and other aluminum alloys. Despite excellent performance, these aluminum alloys have seen limited use outside of the aerospace industry due in part to high cost. If high-performance aluminum extrusions could be made more cost effectively by eliminating energy intensive process steps typical of conventional extrusion, then numerous opportunities exist for more widespread adoption. A key reason for the high cost of 7075 and 2024 extrusions (25-75% higher than 6061) is their slow extrusion speed. 7075 and 2024 are limited to 2 m/min and 3.5 m/min respectively, in contrast to 6061 which can be extruded at 20–80 m/min. In addition to slow speed, aluminum alloys require numerous thermal treatments throughout the extrusion process including homogenization and pre-heating prior to extrusion, and solution heat treating and artificial aging after extrusion. Each of these steps contribute to the total energy consumed during manufacturing of extruded components. This project investigates the use of ShAPE to improve extrusion speed and reduce, or even eliminate, the typical thermal treatments for high strength aluminum alloys, all while improving material performance. The overarching goal of this project was to demonstrate that Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) can manufacture high-performance aluminum alloy tubing with lower manufacturing energy and improved mechanical properties compared to conventional extrusion. Unlike conventional extrusion where the billet is rammed against a stationary die using a strictly linear motion, the ShAPE process superimposes a rotational shear force by spinning the die while the billet is plunged. Compared to conventional linear extrusion, the ShAPE process imparts significantly more strain into the feedstock material, which enables the formation of novel microstructures. These microstructures manifest an array of property and process improvements for extrusion of high-performance aluminum alloys. The following accomplishments were achieved for this project: Extrusion of 7075 at 12.2 meters/min compared to 2 meters/min for conventional extrusion; Elimination of 7075 billet homogenization (430 °C for 20 hours) which is required prior to conventional extrusion; Elimination of 7075 billet pre-heating (400 °C for 1 hour) in a separate furnace which is required prior to conventional extrusion; Achieved 7075-T6with yield strength = 595 MPa, ultimate tensile strength = 531MPa, and elongation = 17.4% for extrusions made from unhomogenized billets. Exceeds the ASTM and ASM standard, and typical industry values; Achieved 7075-T5 (i.e., no solution heat treatment) with yield strength = 588 MPa, ultimate tensile strength = 535 MPa, and elongation = 14.8% for extrusions made from homogenized billets; Extrusion of 2024 at 7.4 meters/min compared to 3.5 meters/min for conventional extrusion; Achieved 2024-T8510 yield strength = 522 MPa, ultimate strength = 510MPa, and elongation = 7.1% for extrusions made from wrought billets. Exceeds the ASTM and ASM standard, and typical industry values; Extrusion of Al-12.4TM high-performance aluminum powder directly into tubing, in a single step, which eliminates process steps typical of powder metallurgy extrusion.
A study of the opening mode of crack initiation in 7075-T6 aluminum alloy sheets has been conducted with the aid of a scanning electron microscope. Observations were made from several orientations, including the top view of the specimen which showed the notch profile and the edge view of the specimen which showed the entire notch front along the specimen thickness. It was found that the edge view exhibited the first signs of permanent deformation at about 55% of the breaking strength. These changes took the form of deformation bands which were aligned in the direction of the tensile axis and apparently defined limiting regions of homogeneous slip. It is felt that the appearance of microcracks at loads approaching the breaking strength was of fundamental importance in the formation of the final fracture surface. Many of these microcraks were initiated at intermetallic particles and other metallurgically weak regions on the notch surface. It was also possible to correlate the strain in the notch with the stress intensity factor for the various loads. Very large plastic strains were observed on the notch tip as compared to published values of elongation at fracture for unnotched specimens.
Additive manufacturing (AM) of high-strength aluminum alloys can produce high-performance aerospace and biomedical parts with unique geometries and functions. However, many high-performance alloy systems such as AA 7075 pose challenges during AM due to thermal cycles that cause hot cracking, limiting AM to casting-friendly alloys. Stock AA 7075 alloy poses additional challenges due to the excessive growth of insoluble precipitates during casting and needs to be thermomechanically processed to obtain acceptable mechanical properties. Here, this work uses liquid metal jet printing to produce high-resolution pure AA 7075 parts at high strength (593 MPa) and ductility (10 pct), surpassing the specific strength of any type of steel. The parts are printed by depositing fine droplets on a high-temperature substrate that reduces cooling rates, preventing hot cracking. The results show that fully dense, crack-free parts can only be printed at substrate temperatures of 500 °C with a cooling rate threshold of < 2000 K/s to prevent cracking and < 500 K/s to eliminate porosity. The tensile strength, microhardness, and ductility of the parts matched or were beyond the wrought alloy specifications after heat treatment, possibly due to high solidification rates that produce finer insoluble precipitates. Our results indicate that many challenging high-performance alloy systems can now be 3D printed based on the critical thresholds for cooling rates using any AM method that can satisfy these conditions.
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Newly developed tempering treatment considerably increases the corrosion resistance of 7075-T6 alloy and concomitantly preserves its yield strength. The results of tests on samples of the alloy subjected to the above treatments show that when the overaging period is 12 hours /at 325 degrees F/, the alloy exhibits a yield strength of 73,000 psi.
Point defects were introduced into specimens of three heat-treated tempers of alloy 7075 by neutron irradiation. Continuous ultrasonic monitoring allowed crack growth to be observed. Effects on stress-corrosion susceptibility, elongation, hardness, and yield strength are noted and compared for the three tempers.