Effect of ageing time 200 °c on microstructure behaviour of Al-Zn-Cu-Mg cast alloys

Abstract

Al-Zn-Cu-Mg is heat treatable alloy that can be used in many hightech applications, such as aerospace and military. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of ageing process in microstrucure behaviour of Al-9Zn-5Cu-4Mg cast alloy by performing SEM analysis and its correlation with hardness tests of as-cast Al-9Zn-5Cu-4Mg alloy and heat treated Al-9Zn-5Cu-4Mg cast alloy. The results show the deployment of precipitation spread over the dendrite and also the presence of second phases Mg3Zn3Al2, Cu2FeAl7, CuAl2, and CuMgAl2 in as-cast Al-9Zn-5Cu-4Mg alloy. The presence of all these second phases are affecting to the toughness of aluminium alloy and the presence of MgZn2 leads the impairment of hardness value of heat-treated Al-9Zn-5Cu-5Mg cast alloy.