Precipitation stages and reaction kinetics of AlMgSi alloys during the artificial aging process monitored by in-situ electrical resistivity measurement method

Abstract

The precipitation process and reaction kinetics during artificial aging, precipitate microstructure, and mechanical properties after aging of AlMgSi alloys were investigated employing in-situ electrical resistivity measurement, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observation, and tensile test methods. Three aging stages in sequence, namely formation of GP zones, transition from GP zones to β'' phase, transition from β″ to β′ phase, and coarsening of both phases, were clearly distinguished by the variation of the resistivity. It was discussed together with the mechanical properties and precipitate morphology evolution. Fast formation of GP zones and β″ phase leads to an obvious decrease of the resistivity and increase of the mechanical strength. The formation of β″ phase in the second stage, which contributes to the peak aging strength, has much higher reaction kinetics than reactions in the other two stages. All of these stages finished faster with higher reaction kinetics under higher temperatures, due to higher atom diffusion capacity. The results proved that the in-situ electrical resistivity method, as proposed in the current study, is a simple, effective, and convenient technique for real-time monitoring of the precipitation process of AlMgSi alloys. Its further application for industrial production and scientific research is also evaluated.