METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING AN ALUMINUM-COPPER-LITHIUM ALLOY HAVING IMPROVED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH AND IMPROVED TOUGHNESS

摘要

The invention relates to a manufacturing method in which an alloy is prepared that comprises 3.5 to 4.7 wt % of Cu; 0.6 to 1.2 wt % of Li; 0.2 to 0.8 wt % of Mg; 0.1 to 0.2 wt % of Zr; 0.0 to 0.3 wt % of Ag; 0.0 to 0.8 wt % of Zn; 0.0 to 0.5 wt % of Mn; at most 0.20 wt % of Fe+Si; optionally an element selected from Cr, Sc, Hf and V, the amount of said element, if selected, being from 0.05 to 0.3 wt % for Cr and for Sc, 0.05 to 0.5 wt % for Hf and for V; the other elements being at most 0.05 wt % each and 0.15 wt % in total, a refiner is introduced, the alloy is cast in a crude form, homogenized, hot-worked, solution heat-treated, quenched, cold-worked, and tempered, in which the refiner contains particles of TiC and/or the cold working is between 8 and 16%. The products obtained by the method according to the invention have an advantageous compromise between mechanical strength and toughness.