Relationship between mechanical properties and age-hardening behavior around grain boundaries of Al-Mg-Si alloy

• Main Authors: Hashimoto Takuya, Ikeda Ken-ichi, Miura Seiji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2020-01-01
• Series: MATEC Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2020/22/matecconf_icaa172020_03002.pdf

Nanoindentation tests were conducted near the grain boundary (GB) of the Al-Mg-Si alloy, and the influence of GB character on the aging precipitation behavior and the mechanical properties was confirmed. After obtaining the GB characters by electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis, nanoindentation tests were carried out on under-aged, peak-aged, and over-aged samples. And then, the indentation areas were observed by back scattered electrons imaging (BSE) in order to identify indentation positions with respect to the GB. In this study, for the GB character, focusing on the rotation angle, the high-angle GB (HAGB) and the low-angle GB (LAGB) were selected. In addition, coincident site lattice GBs (CSL) were selected as the special GB. In the 180°C under-aged samples, the nano-hardness near GB is higher than that far from GB, while 180°C peak-aged samples, the nano-hardness is lower than that far from GB. Then the range near the GB where the hardness changes was larger at HAGB than at LAGB and CSL3. This suggests that the GB character affects the aging precipitation behavior and mechanical properties.