Hot forming process with synchronous cooling for AA2024 aluminum alloy and its application

Abstract

Hot forming process with synchronous cooling (HFSC) for heat-treatable, high-strength aluminum alloys is a novel technique to solid dissolve and then form and quench blanks at the same time. After the HFSC procedure, microstructures of final products can directly determine their mechanical properties. To investigate the technological processes of HFSC and the effects of this novel technique on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the final products, experiments were launched on AA2024 aluminum alloys in H18 and O tempers processed by hot bending process with synchronous cooling and two traditional cold forming methods. Then, springback and microstructure of the final products were analyzed and mechanical properties of material were measured by tensile tests. The results show that HFSC can improve the formability of AA2024 aluminum alloy, simplify the production process of parts, and improve the dimensional accuracy of the final products with reduced springback and no warp distortion. After natural aging for 96 h at room temperature, the products subjected to the hot bending process with synchronous cooling exhibited a significant increase in strength. Additionally, material hardening was observed in the formed regions of the products that were formed by hot bending with synchronous cooling, where the alloy’s yield strength was higher than that in other regions.