Heat treatment of 7xxx series aluminium alloys （7 xxx系列铝合金的热处理）.pdf

Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China 24(2014) 2003−2017 Heat treatment of 7xxx series aluminium alloys—Some recent developments Paul A. ROMETSCH, Yong ZHANG, Steven KNIGHT Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia Received 17 October 2013; accepted 10 April 2014 Abstract: The 7xxx series alloys are heat treatable wrought aluminium alloys based on the Al−Zn−Mg(−Cu) system. They are widely used in high-performance structural aerospace and transportation applications. Apart from compositional, casting and thermo-mechanical processing effects, the balance of properties is also significantly influenced by the way in which the materials are heat-treated. This paper describes the effects of homogenisation, solution treatment, quenching and ageing treatments on the evolution of the microstructure and properties of some important medium to high-strength 7xxx alloys. With a focus on recent work at Monash University, where the whole processing route from homogenisation to final ageing has been studied for thick plate products, it is reported how microstructural features such as dispersoids, coarse constituent particles, fine-scale precipitates, grain structure and grain boundary characteristics can be controlled by heat treatment to achieve improved microstructure−property combinations. In particular, the paper presents methods for dissolving unwanted coarse constituent particles by controlled high- temperature treatments, quench sensitivity evaluations based on a systematic study of continuous cooling precipitation behaviour, and ageing investigations of one-, two- and