Evaluating the Cavitation Erosion of 7075-T651 Aluminum Alloy Heat Treated by Artificial Aging at 140 °C for 12 Hours

Abstract

Aluminum-based alloys, due to their high properties compared to pure aluminum, have expanded their use in building the aircraft strength structures, in the automotive construction and in the naval field. Some of these, such as the radome (aircraft nose) and the wings of the airplane, are exposed also to intense stress from the erosion created by the impact with the raindrops. The literature considers this type of damage to be assimilated by the erosion trough cavitation. Therefore, the paper presents the results of the behavior and resistance to erosion trough vibratory cavitation of the 7075 - T651 aluminum alloy structure, heat treated by artificial aging at 140 °C for 12 hours. The research has been carried out on a standard device that complies with the requirements described in ASTM G32-2016. The structure strength obtained through the researched heat treatment, is evaluated through comparison with the state obtained by artificial aging at 180 °C with a similar duration of 12 hours. The evaluation is done by comparing the parameters recommended by the ASTM G32-2016 norms of the two heat treatments. The results show that the achieved gain is slightly increased.