Cluster hardening in Al-3Mg triggered by small Cu additions

Abstract The aging response of two Al-3Mg alloys with Cu addition 1 wt% has been tracked under simulated automotive paint bake conditions ( ∼ 20 min, 160 and 200 °C) to quantify the processes controlling hardening. The decomposition of the solid solution, observed by atom probe tomography, has been interpreted using a novel pair correlation function approach and incorporated into a model for prediction of precipitation hardening. It is shown that the hardening is controlled by clusters/Guinier-Preston-Bagaryatsky (GPB) zones similarly to what has been previously observed in much higher Cu containing 2XXX-series alloys. Interestingly, it is shown that very small additions of Cu ( 0.1 at%) can be used to catalyze a high number density of strengthening particles owing to the high enrichment in Mg compared to particles found in more conventional high Cu/low Mg alloys. This allows hardening during the first hour of aging that is as high as that obtainable in these high Cu alloys.