Heat Treatment Processes of A2024 Rheoforging Alloy and Morphology Investigation by Nanoindentation and Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

This study demonstrated nanoindentation techniques of investigating the effects of size and feature in a microstructure on the mechanical properties of rheology-forged aluminum alloy. Mechanical properties and tribological characteristics of rheology-forged Al2024 wrought aluminum alloy in terms of T6 heat treatment were investigated by varying the aging time by nanoindentation and nanoscratch techniques. By nanoindentation/nanoscratch tests and atomic force microscopy, it was demonstrated that the 4 hour aged material exhibites the highest hardness because of the intermediate precipitate phase θ″, which was precipitated by T6 heat treatment at 495°C. Moreover, the friction coefficients in the precipitates in the eutectic phase region were lower than those in the primary α phase region.