Strain rate sensitivity of the aluminium-magnesium-scandium alloy - Scalmalloy®

Abstract

This work investigates the strain rate sensitivity of the aluminiummagnesium-scandium alloy Scalmalloy, which is used extensively for additive manufacturing of lightweight structures. This high strength aluminium alloy combines very good weldability, machinability and mechanical strength: it can be heat-treated to reach nominal ultimate tensile strengths in excess of 500 MPa. We report tensile tests at strain rates ranging from 10−3 /s to 103 /s at room temperature. It is well known that Al-Mg alloys exhibit a negative strain rate dependency in combination with serrated flow caused by the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect, which describes the interaction of Mg solutes with dislocation propagations. In contrast, in Al-Sc alloys, the flow stress increases with increasing strain rate and displays positive strain rate dependency. Additionally, the presence of Sc in the form of Al3-Sc provides a fine-grained microstructure which allows higher tensile and fatigue strength. This research shows how these combined effects interact in the case of Scalmalloy, which contains both Mg and Sc. Tests are performed at quasi-static, intermediate and high strain rates with a servohydraulic testing machine and a Split-Hopkinson tension bar. Local specimen strain was performed using 2D Digital Image Correlation.