Structure formation and processability of the Al—Zn—Mg—Ca—Fe—Zr—Sc alloy at hot rolling and TIG welding

Abstract

Process conditions are suggested for manufacturing wrought semi-finished products (2 and 1 mm sheets) from the Al-4.5%Zn-2.5%Mg-2.5%Ca-0.5%Fe-0.2%Zr-0.1%Sc experimental alloy including thermomechanical processing at t = 400450 °С and reduction ratios up to 98 %, as well as softening annealing of the sheet metal at t = 350400 °C for 1—2 hours. It was found that the as-cast structure consists of eutectic phases (Al, Zn)4Ca, Al10CaFe2 5 to 25 gm in size, and a Al2Mg5Zn5 nonequilibrium T-phase located along the boundaries of dendritic cells (Al). Zirconium and scandium form a solid solution with aluminum as a result of solidification. After hot rolling, the structure of 2 mm sheets consists of lineage-oriented discrete intermetallic particles and their conglomerates up to 40 gm in size in the (Al) matrix. The structure of 1 mm sheets features by greater fineness and structure uniformity. The fine structure of deformed semi-finished products was analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and this analysis showed that nanoparticles in the Al3(Zr, Sc) phase of the L12 structural type are maximum 20 nm in cross-section. The following level of mechanical properties was achieved in wrought semi-finished products: ultimate strength σв ~ 310330 MPa, yield strength σ0,2 ~ 250280 MPa with relative elongation δ ~ 4.57.0 %. The possibility of TIG welding using standard AMg5 wire as a filler material was studied. It was shown that the new alloy demonstrated no tendency to form hot cracks. According to the results of X-ray tomography, the percentage of porosity in the weld was 1.27 vol.%. The prevalent pore diameter did not exceed 0.2 mm. In general, the resulting structural and qualitative parameters of weld joints contribute to obtaining a strength of 75 % of the strength index of the initial wrought semi-finished products (sheets) achieved by stabilizing annealing at t = 350 °С for 3 hours.