Abstract
Elastic stress plays a crucial role in controlling the precipitation characteristics of precipitates during the artificial aging of age-hardening metal materials. This study investigates the effects of stress level on the precipitation of precipitates in an Al-Zn-Mg alloy, using a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry to provide a quantitative comparison of the precipitates. The results demonstrate that the hardness of stress-aged alloy almost monotonically increases with higher applied external stress. Moreover, the precipitation behavior of precipitates varies markedly under different stress conditions. The studied alloy aged under low stress levels predominantly exhibited semi-coherent η' phases characterized by higher precipitate number density (6.0 ∼ 7.0 × 1022 m−3) and smaller precipitate size (3.28 ∼ 3.66 nm) compared to stress-free aged alloy (∼1.9 × 1022 m−3, ∼5.46 nm). Under high stress levels, enhanced dislocation diffusion and aggregation promote the heterogeneous nucleation and the formation of coarse η phases. This work provides further insights into manipulating the precipitation behavior of Al-Zn-Mg alloy through applied stress field, potentially offering solutions to achieve superior comprehensive properties in these alloys.
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