Optimizing the strength and ductility of fine structured 2024 Al alloy by nano-precipitation

Abstract Alloys with grain or subgrain structures refined down to 1 μm or below usually have high strength, but often inadequate tensile ductility. Past efforts in improving their ductility have usually led to a sacrifice of strength. We have developed an effective approach in achieving both high strength and high ductility in a 2024 Al alloy. The approach involves solution-treatment to partially dissolve T-phase particles, cryo-rolling to produce a fine-structure containing a high density of dislocations and submicrometer subgrains and aging to generate highly dispersed nano-precipitates. It was found that the remnant T-phase particles made it very effective in accumulating dislocations during cryo-rolling, which in turn promoted the precipitation of nanosized S′ precipitates with an interparticle spacing of only 10–20 nm. Such a high density of S′ precipitates enabled effective dislocation pinning and accumulation, leading to simultaneous increases in strength, work-hardening ability and ductility.