Abstract
The strength and aging efficiency of precipitation-hardened aluminum alloys are always difficult to be obtained simultaneously. To address this issue, a novel fast-aging process, that is, a two-step aging coupled deformation process, was proposed. The influence of fast-aging parameters on the mechanical behavior of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy was studied, and it was found that secondary aging, pre-aging, and deformation have a major effect, an auxiliary effect, and a coordinating effect, respectively, on the strength of aluminum alloys. Compared to traditional peak strength aging process of the T6 condition, the tensile strengths of the material are improved by 10 MPa (∼1.99%), and the aging time reduced by 89.58%. The continuous growth conditions of the precipitates throughout fast aging were analyzed in detail, and a competitive mechanism for the nucleation and growth of the precipitates in the matrix and on dislocations during secondary aging was proposed. Subsequently, the mechanisms were verified using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) testing and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations.
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