Anisotropy of rapidly solidified 2195 alloy rolled sheets: Effect of pre-thermal treatment prior to rolling and aging treatment

Abstract

The pronounced anisotropy in mechanical properties presents a major obstacle to the extensive application of aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloys, primarily attributed to heterogeneous precipitate distribution, grain structure variations, and crystallographic texture. This study investigates the impact of pre-thermal treatment prior to hot rolling and aging treatment on the anisotropy of mechanical properties of 2195 alloy sheet fabricated by gas atomization, hot pressing and hot rolling. The results demonstrate that pre-treatment at 450 °C for 4 h promotes finer and more uniform distribution of precipitates, effectively mitigating mechanical anisotropy of the alloy sheet. Additionally, this treatment facilitates recrystallization during hot rolling, further reducing mechanical anisotropy. The in-plane anisotropy (IPA) factors for ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) are 1.15% and 0.77%, respectively. Subsequent aging treatment enhances grain refinement and the uniformity of the T₁ phase, suppresses the formation of precipitation-free zones (PFZs), significantly improving the strength and toughness of the alloy sheet. After peak aging at 165°C for 48 h, the alloy sheet exhibits YS of 547 MPa, UTS of 590 MPa, and elongation (EL) of 7.7%.

Keywords

aluminum-lithium alloy / hot rolling / pre-thermal treatment / anisotropy / aging treatment

References

[1] LiS-s, YueX, LiQ-y, et al.. Development and applications of aluminum alloys for aerospace industry [J]. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2023, 27: 944-983

[2] KablovE N, AntipovV V, OglodkovaJ S, et al.. Development and application prospects of aluminum-lithium alloys in aircraft and space technology [J]. Metallurgist, 2021, 65(1): 72-81

[3] YanS-j, WangR-c, PengC-q, et al.. Enhancing the strength and ductility of rapidly-solidified 2196 Al-Li alloy through multi-stage ageing treatments [J]. Vacuum, 2025, 238: 114235

[4] RiojaR J, LiuJ. The evolution of Al-Li base products for aerospace and space applications [J]. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 2012, 43(9): 3325-3337

[5] WanhillR J H, BrayG H. Aerostructural design and its application to aluminum-lithium alloys [M]. Aluminum-lithium Alloys, 2014 Amsterdam Elsevier 27-58

[6] Abd El-AtyA, XuY, GuoX-z, et al.. Strengthening mechanisms, deformation behavior, and anisotropic mechanical properties of Al-Li alloys: A review [J]. Journal of Advanced Research, 2018, 10: 49-67

[7] HajjiouiE A, FaqirM, BouchaâlaK, et al.. A review on heat treatment factor and precipitations to improve the third generation of aluminum lithium alloys used in aeronautic applications [J]. Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences, 2022, 95(1): 85-98

[8] AhmedB, WuS J. Aluminum lithium alloys (Al-Li-Cu-X)-new generation material for aerospace applications [J]. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 2013, 440: 104-111

[9] WangP, YeL-y, LiuX-d, et al.. On the role of grain structure and crystal orientation in governing fatigue crack propagation behavior of Al-Cu-Li alloy [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2023, 945: 169317

[10] SureshM, KalsarR, MoreA M, et al.. Evolution of microstructure and texture in the third generation Al-Li alloy AA2195 during warm hybrid processing [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2021, 855: 156750

[11] ChaturvediM C, ChenD L. Effect of specimen orientation and welding on the fracture and fatigue properties of 2195 Al-Li alloy [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2004, 387: 465-469

[12] LvP-h, WangR-c, PengC-q, et al.. Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of 2195 Al-Li alloy processed by rapid solidification and thermomechanical processing [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2023, 948: 169794

[13] NamkwonY, KohH J, LeeS, et al.. Effects of microstructural evolution on superplastic deformation characteristics of a rapidly solidified Al-Li alloy [J]. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 2001, 32(7): 1649-1658

[14] PuQ-q, JiaZ-h, KongY-p, et al.. Microstructure and mechanical properties of 2195 alloys prepared by traditional casting and spray forming [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2020, 784: 139337

[15] WangK-z, ZhangC-s, MengZ-j, et al.. Mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of the spray formed 2195 Al-Li alloy extruded sheet at warm temperatures [J]. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 2023, 22: 1664-1676

[16] ZhangC-s, LiuM-f, MengZ-j, et al.. Microstructure evolution and precipitation characteristics of spray-formed and subsequently extruded 2195 Al-Li alloy plate during solution and aging process [J]. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2020, 283: 116718

[17] ZhangQ-y, ZhangC-s, LinJ, et al.. Microstructure analysis and low-cycle fatigue behavior of spray-formed Al-Li alloy 2195 extruded plate [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2019, 742: 773-787

[18] WangY-x, ZhaoG-q, XuX, et al.. Constitutive modeling, processing map establishment and microstructure analysis of spray deposited Al-Cu-Li alloy 2195 [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2019, 779: 735-751

[19] RakshitR, SarkarA, PandaS K, et al.. Influence of out-of-plane stretch forming induced different strain paths on micro-texture evolution, slip system activity and Taylor factor distribution in Al-Li alloy [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2022, 830: 142267

[20] MishraS, SureshM, MoreA M, et al.. Texture control to reduce yield strength anisotropy in the third generation aluminum-copper-lithium alloy: Experiments and modeling [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2021, 799: 140047

[21] MoyC K S, WeissM, XiaJ-h, et al.. Influence of heat treatment on the microstructure, texture and formability of 2024 aluminium alloy [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2012, 552: 48-60

[22] YuanH, WangQ F, ZhangJ W, et al.. Effect of grain shape on the texture evolution during cold rolling of Al-Mg alloys [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2011, 509(3): 922-928

[23] KweonS, RajaD S. Comparison of anisotropy evolution in BCC and FCC metals using crystal plasticity and texture analysis [J]. European Journal of Mechanics-A/Solids, 2017, 62: 22-38

[24] El-AtyA A, XuY, ZhangS-h, et al.. Experimental investigation of tensile properties and anisotropy of 1420, 8090 and 2060 Al-Li alloys sheet undergoing different strain rates and fibre orientation: A comparative study [J]. Procedia Engineering, 2017, 207: 13-18

[25] ZhaoT-z, JinL, XuY, et al.. Anisotropic yielding stress of 2198 Al-Li alloy sheet and mechanisms [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2020, 771: 138572

[26] GordeevaM I, BetsofenS Y, ShalinA V, et al.. Influence of the phase composition and texture on the elastic properties of Al-Cu-Li alloys [J]. Russian Metallurgy (Metally), 2024, 2024(2): 423-430

[27] GordeevaM I, BetsofenS Y, ShalinA V, et al.. Texture and anisotropy of mechanical properties of Al-Cu-Li alloys [J]. Russian Metallurgy (Metally), 2024, 2024(5): 1138-1144

[28] HalesS J, HafleyR A. Texture and anisotropy in Al-Li alloy 2195 plate and near-net-shape extrusions [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 1998, 257(1): 153-164

[29] WangY-x, ZhaoG-q, XuX, et al.. Effect of extrusion parameters on microstructure, texture and mechanical property anisotropy of spray deposited 2195 Al-Li alloy profile [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2021, 818: 141406

[30] KimN J, LeeE W. Effect of T₁ precipitate on the anisotropy of Al-Li alloy 2090 [J]. Acta Metallurgica et Materialia, 1993, 41(3): 941-948

[31] LiuZ-z, DengS-x, RaoM, et al.. Effect of grain thickness and T₁ precipitate on the strength anisotropy of Al-4.0Cu-1.0Li-0.4Mg-0.4Ag-xZr alloys under different heat treatment [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2023, 968: 172105

[32] ChenX-x, ZhaoG-q, XuX, et al.. Effects of heat treatment on the microstructure, texture and mechanical property anisotropy of extruded 2196 Al-Cu-Li alloy [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2021, 862: 158102

[33] ZengX, FanX G, LiH W, et al.. Grain morphology related microstructural developments in bulk deformation of 2219 aluminum alloy sheet at elevated temperature [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2019, 760: 328-338

[34] LiuQ, FangL-m, XiongZ-w, et al.. The response of dislocations, low angle grain boundaries and high angle grain boundaries at high strain rates [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2021, 822: 141704

[35] EnglerO. On the influence of orientation pinning on growth selection of recrystallisation [J]. Acta Materialia, 1998, 46(5): 1555-1568

[36] JataK V, PanchanadeeswaranS, VasudevanA K. Evolution of texture, micro structure and mechanical property anisotropy in an Al-Li-Cu alloy [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 1998, 257(1): 37-46

[37] LiS-y, BeyerleinI J, BourkeM A M. Texture formation during equal channel angular extrusion of FCC and BCC materials: Comparison with simple shear [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2005, 394(12): 66-77

[38] LiuW C, ZhaiT, MorrisJ G. Comparison of recrystallization and recrystallization textures in cold-rolled DC and CC AA 5182 aluminum alloys [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2003, 358(12): 84-93

[39] ZhongZ Y, BrokmeierH G, MaawadE, et al.. Texture dependent lattice strains and texture gradient in Al7020 [J]. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2015, 82: 012100

[40] HeT, ZhangN, SunW. Texture development in a special rolled AA6016 aluminum alloy [J]. Advanced Materials Research, 2013, 834–836: 416-419

[41] ChenL, YuanS-w, KongD-m, et al.. Influence of aging treatment on the microstructure, mechanical properties and anisotropy of hot extruded Al-Mg-Si plate [J]. Materials & Design, 2019, 182: 107999

[42] LiuT-l, LiH-r, MaY-l, et al.. Investigation of anisotropy and structure variation of spray-formed 2195 Al-Li alloy via final temperature-controlled rolling and cold rolling [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2023, 937: 168414

[43] QinH-l, ZhangH, WuH-q. The evolution of precipitation and microstructure in friction stir welded 2195-T8 Al-Li alloy [J]. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2015, 626: 322-329

[44] BalducciE, CeschiniL, MessieriS, et al.. Thermal stability of the lightweight 2099 Al-Cu-Li alloy: Tensile tests and microstructural investigations after overaging [J]. Materials & Design, 2017, 119: 54-64

[45] de HassM, de HossonJ T M. Grain boundary segregation and precipitation in aluminium alloys [J]. Scripta Materialia, 2001, 44(2): 281-286

[46] KimK, ZhouB-c, WolvertonC. First-principles study of crystal structure and stability of T₁ precipitates in Al-Li-Cu alloys [J]. Acta Materialia, 2018, 145: 337-346

[47] DengY-j, BaiJ-h, WuX-d, et al.. Investigation on formation mechanism of T₁ precipitate in an Al-Cu-Li alloy [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2017, 723: 661-666

[48] PaulA R, YongZ, StevenK. Heat treatment of 7xxx series aluminium alloys: Some recent developments [J]. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 2014, 24(7): 2003-2017

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Central South University