Strength and formability improvement of ECARed aluminum alloy 6061 sheets using the artificial aging heat treatment

Abstract

In the current research, the experimental investigation of the mechanical characteristics of 6061 aluminum alloy, which was subjected to Equal Channel Angular Rolling (ECAR) – A Severe Plastic Deformation Process – and artificial aging heat treatment, has been discussed. By performing the ECAR, the strength of the material increases, but the formability will be reduced. Consequently, the usage of this alloy has been limited. The artificial aging heat treatment process has been proposed after the ECAR operation, and the strength, hardness, and formability of the material have been investigated. In this regard, remarkable results were obtained. By controlling the aging time and temperature on the ECAR piece, not only the strength increased but also the ductility increased. Moreover, an artificial neural network was used to find the optimal aging time and temperature. Finally, the best aging time and temperature ranges to achieve the most desirable mechanical properties were provided using the neural network. The result show 150% increase in strength and 50% in formability by performing controlled-artificial aging heat treatment with ECAR process.