Mechanical and structural aspects of rapid solidification of selected aluminum alloys

摘要

This review presents the results of studies on rapidly-solidified (RS) aluminum alloys that have been performed during the years 1999-2016 as part of scientific and research cooperation program between the Faculty of Non-ferrous Metals at AGH and Nihon University in Tokyo. The application of liquid alloy spraying onto the intensively cooled and rotating copper cylinder made it possible to obtain thin metallic flakes, which were then consolidated mechanically in the process of pressing, vacuum degasification and extrusion. Materials containing alloying elements such as Si, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, and selected AA7000-series alloys (MezolO andMezo20) were studied. Three groups of materials were distinguished, differing in the persistence of the refinement effect on structural components following rapid recrystallization. Under annealing conditions at elevated temperature, the most stable precipitates (Si) were observed in RS Al-Si alloys. RS alloys containing transitional metals such as Fe, Ni, Mn and Co are characterized by a moderately stable morphology of precipitates, which undergo very slow coarsening at high temperature but do not reach the sizes typical for materials manufactured by industrial technologies. It was found that rapid crystallization of the aforementioned alloys significantly increases not only their strength properties but also their plasticity. The third group of rapidly-solidified materials include products made of 2000-, 6000- and 7000-series alloys, which are usually hardened by means of aging process in industrial technologies. Examples of structural and mechanical tests conducted on the MezolO and Mezo20 (7000-serie alloys) are shown. RS materials made from these alloys are characterized by the presence of precipitates with sizes of 0.5-1.5 um, containing basic alloying elements, i.e. Zn, Mg, Mn. The presence of these precipitates arises from the rapid crystallization process, which bestows structural features different from those expected according to the thermodynamic equilibrium (phase) diagram.