Influence of Al3(Sc,Zr) Precipitates on Deformability and Friction Stir Welding Behavior of Al-Mg-Sc-Zr Alloys

Abstract

We investigate the influence of Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitates on the cold deformability and\tfriction stir welding behavior of a novel AlMg4Sc0.4Zr0.12 alloy. To analyze the influence of the precipitate state on\tthe flow stress, samples were pre-aged at various temperatures for up to 120 min prior to plane strain compression. It was found that the flow stress increased considerably with increasing pre-ageing temperature and duration. The formation of Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitates during friction stir welding was investigated on welds with high and low heat input by measuring the respective hardening response with and without post-weld heat treatment.