Effects of Excessive Zr Content and Ultrasonic Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloy

Abstract

The Zr element is one of the important grain refiners for 7xxx series Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys, but the effect of Zr content more than 0.15 wt.% needs to be deeply investigated under the action of ultrasonic vibration. In this study, the effects of Zr contents (0.1 to 0.25 wt.%) on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy were studied. The results showed that Zr element could refine grains, but when the Zr content was greater than 0.15 wt.%, the grain size was not uniform, the number of second phase particles increased, and the segregation of components became more serious. It was found that after ultrasonic treatment, the grain-size inhomogeneity was greatly improved, and the Zr content could be added up to 0.2 wt.%. When the Zr content is equal or lower than 0.2 wt.%, ultrasonic treatment can effectively improve the mechanical properties of materials by refining grains and weakening segregation. However, when the Zr content is up to 0.25 wt.%, the effect is getting worse.