Development and strengthening of 2219 aluminium alloy by mechanical working and heat treatment

Abstract

The wrought aluminum alloy 2219 was developed using an induction furnace followed by forging and hot rolling for the improvement of properties. Then the alloy was solution treated at 535°C for 48 min followed by water quenched and then aged at 210, 230 and 240°C for different time period. The maximum tensile strength of 411 MPa and hardness of 113.7 HV were achieved at 210°C after 4 h aging. The tensile strength of 368.12 MPa and hardness of 95.32 HV were obtained at 240°C after only 1.5 h aging time. The strength and hardness values of aged alloy specimens obtained in this work were reasonably higher (strength 51% and hardness 81%) than the specimens which were solution treated and quenched. Microstructures of the aged specimens also provided an evidence of dispersion of second phase precipitates particles in the single phase matrix. © 2011 Asian Network for Scientific Information.