Investigation on Fatigue Damage of the Al5Zn2Mg High Strength Aluminum Alloy

The fatigue fracture and the microstructure of Al5Zn2Mg high strength aluminum alloy were observed by OM, SEM and TEM, and the low cycle fatigue properties were tested and analyzed. The results of experimentation show that the low cycle fatigue life of Al5Zn2Mg high strength aluminum alloy is 9.28×104 cycle in R=0.1, f=8Hz, and σmax=0.75σb. The tensile strength is 444MPa. The fatigue fracture is composed of the initiation zone, the propagation zone, and the sudden fracture zone, which is characteristic of a mixed-type fatigue fracture. The fatigue crack initiates in the surface of Al5Zn2Mg aluminum alloy sample, while there is no fatigue striation in fatigue crack propagation zone. The η′(MgZn2) transitional strengthening phases are precipitated in Al5Zn2Mg aluminum alloy, and mostly distributed in grain boundary. The diameter of η′ strengthening phase is fine, about is 10nm. There is none precipitated zone in width nearby the grain boundary