Revealing the coarsening behavior of precipitates and its effect on the thermal stability in Tʹ and ηʹ dual-phase strengthened Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys

High-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys are widely utilized, but their strength deteriorates as strengthening precipitates coarsen rapidly at elevated temperatures, limiting their applications above 150°C. This study systematically investigates the microstructure evolution and its impact on the properties of peak-aged Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys with varying Zn/Mg ratios during thermal exposure at a series of temperatures from 150 to 300°C for 500 h. The results reveal that alloys A1 and A2 with an optimal Zn/Mg ratio (1.50−2.14) and relatively lower (Zn + Mg) content (7.0−8.8 wt.%), exhibit superior heat resistance properties compared to the other three alloys. Despite having lower strength relative to alloys with higher solute content, peak-aged alloys A1 and A2 retain the highest strength after thermal exposure. This performance is attributed to the high proportion (over 80%) of T′/T phases in the precipitates for alloys A1 and A2, which demonstrate better thermal stability in comparison to η′/η phases. Additionally, the lower solute content reduces the driving force for diffusion of Zn and Mg atoms, thus inhibiting the coarsening of precipitates. Moreover, the study elucidates that the coarsening mechanism of precipitates transitions from interfacial diffusion control at 150°C to matrix diffusion control at 200−300°C. These insights into the composition-dependent coarsening behavior of precipitates in dual-phase strengthened Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys offer valuable guidance for designing heat-resistant aluminum alloys with enhanced performance at elevated temperatures.