The effect of initial aging treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cryorolled 6016 Al alloy

Abstract The effect of pre-aging and peak-aging treatments prior to cryorolling on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 6016 Al alloys were investigated by hardness measurements, tensile tests, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that high density of dislocation was induced by cryorolling with 80% thickness reduction. The pre-aging treatment enabled the alloy to have stronger work hardening effect during cryorolling and higher precipitation potential during subsequent aging than the peak-aging treatment. This was due to that the pre-aging enhanced the dislocations accumulating in the cryorolling of pre-aged specimen, and promoted the secondary precipitation during subsequent aging after cryorolling. Meanwhile, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the pre-aged specimen subjected to cryorolling and subsequent aging significantly increased by 72% and 50%, respectively, while the ductility remained similar, as compared to the conventional peak-aged specimen.