Technical Note: Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Two High-Strength Al-xCu-Li-Ag-Mg-Zr Alloys

Lithium is a potent addition to Al alloys for increasing their specific strength and stiffness, which makes Li-containing Al alloys attractive materials for typical aerospace applications in which reduced weight and increased strength and stiffness can improve system performance. Weldalite 049 (AA X2094) (Al-(4.0-6.3) Cu-1.3 Li-0.4 Ag-0.4 Mg-0.14 Zr) was recently developed as an ultra-high strength, weldable alloy designed for use in launch vehicle structures. Standard SCC testing contains the inherent difficulty of test duration and unclear interpretation of results. Use of slow strain rate tests (SSRTs) on aluminum alloys has met with mixed results, and the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility of using SSRT to evaluate the SCC susceptibility of two Weldalite 049 variants.