The influence of the ageing temperature on different properties of the EN AW-7075 aluminium alloy

Abstract

The influence of the ageing temperature on the hardness, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity of the EN AW-7075 aluminium alloy was studied in this paper. After solution treating the alloy at 480 °C for 1 h and quenching it in ice water, the investigated alloy was characterized using Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) in order to determine the optimal temperatures for the isochronal ageing treatments. Afterwards, isochronal ageing was conducted at the temperature range of 110 °C-250 °C for 30 min The hardness, electrical conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and microstructural features were investigated during the ageing treatments. Hardness had a peak value after ageing at 150 °C, while other properties gradually increased with the ageing temperature. Microstructural investigation of the aged alloy by SEM-EDS revealed the existence of precipitated phases that appear homogenously distributed in the microstructure.