Effect of Copper Addition to Aluminum on its Metallurgical, Mechanical Characteristics and Surface Roughness after Rolling

Abstract

Aluminum and its alloys are widely used materials in industrial and engineering applications. They are second in use after steel due to their attractive properties e.g. strength-to-weight ratio, their electrical and thermal conductivities, and corrosion resistance. However, against these attractive properties commercially pure aluminum has certain limitations in the cast condition because it solidifies in large grain size columnar structure which reduces its mechanical strength and surface quality. It is, therefore, always alloyed with other elements to reduce or eliminate these defects. In this paper, the effect of copper addition at a rate of 4% Wt. to commercially pure aluminum both in the cast and after rolling conditions is investigated. Aluminum sheets and aluminum-4% copper sheets were cold rolled in three successive passes, from 4 mm to 3mm to 1.3 mm. After each pass, the grain size, Vickers micro-hardness and surface roughness were determined and discussed. It was found that addition of 4% Cu to commercially pure Al in the cast condition resulted in refining its microstructure both in the cast and after rolling conditions. Furthermore, the rolling process resulted in enhancement of the surface quality only after the first and second passes.