Abstract
In this paper, the micro-structure and solid solubility of 2A97 aluminum-lithium alloy ingots prepared by conventional direct chill (DC) casting and low frequency electromagnetic casting (LFEC) as well as the density of precipitates and tensile properties of 2A97 alloy after T6 treatment were investigated. The results show that the low-frequency electromagnetic field during casting had a remarkable effect on the refinement of micro-structure and solid solubility of alloying elements within the grains, which is very helpful to obtain a large number of fine, uniformly-distributed T1 phases. The mechanical properties of 2A97 alloy prepared by low frequency electromagnetic casting after T6 treatment were improved by obtaining a larger number T1 phases.
Highlights
Aluminum-lithium alloys are very important to the aerospace and spacecraft industries due to their high specific strength, high specific stiffness, high elastic modulus [1,2]
The most commonly used technology in the production of aluminium-alloy semi-finished products is direct chill (DC) casting, but this process is prone to casting defects in Al-Li alloy ingots including oxidation slags, coarse grains, and alloying element segregation which greatly deteriorates the characteristic properties of the alloys [5,6,7]
The reasons for the low tensile strength of the 2A97 aged alloy prepare by conventional DC casting are mainly attributed to the presence of casting defects and serious segregation along grain boundaries
Summary
Aluminum-lithium alloys are very important to the aerospace and spacecraft industries due to their high specific strength, high specific stiffness, high elastic modulus [1,2]. The most commonly used technology in the production of aluminium-alloy semi-finished products is direct chill (DC) casting, but this process is prone to casting defects in Al-Li alloy ingots including oxidation slags, coarse grains, and alloying element segregation which greatly deteriorates the characteristic properties of the alloys [5,6,7]. The numerous advantages of this process, which include refined micro-structures [10,11], improved surface quality of ingots, enhanced solid solubility of alloying elements within grain interiors [12], and improved macro-segregation and eliminating cracks [13], could improve the metallurgical quality of Al-Li alloys effectively. In this work, the 2A97 Al-Li alloy ingots were prepared by conventional DC casting and LFEC.
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