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Retrogression and Reaging of AA7075 and AA6013 Aluminum Alloys

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Abstract

Retrogression and reaging (RRA) is of interest to the automotive industry for manufacturing components of high-strength aluminum alloys. RRA heat treatments are investigated for AA7075-T6 and AA6013-T6 materials. Retrogression is demonstrated to be a thermally activated process reasonably characterized with a single activation energy. Activation energies for retrogression are measured as 97 ± 7 and 160 ± 30 kJ/mol for AA7075-T6 and AA6013-T6, respectively. Critical retrogression times, tR* and t maxR , are defined and measured across a range of retrogression temperatures. These data are used with the concept of reduced time to predict combinations of temperature and time that produce successful retrogression heat treatments. Recommended retrogression heat treatments are 200 °C for 3 to 12 minutes for AA7075-T6 and 240 °C for 7 minutes for AA6013-T6. Data from reaging heat treatments confirm a significant RRA response in AA6013. Recommended reaging heat treatments are 120 °C for 24 hours for retrogressed AA7075 and 190 °C for 1 hour for retrogressed AA6013. A reaging heat treatment that simulates the automotive paint-bake cycle, 185 °C for 25 minutes, is almost as effective as the recommended reaging heat treatment for AA6013 but is significantly less effective than the recommended reaging heat treatment for AA7075.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Hyunwook Shin and Diego Hernandez for their assistance in obtaining hardness data. The authors also thank Hugo Celio, Li Shi, Iskandar Kholmanov, and Evan Fleming for access to and assistance with DSC instruments. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation under GOALI Grant Number CMMI-1634495. One author, K. E. Rader, expresses gratitude to General Motors for support during summer research activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Katherine E. Rader & Eric M. Taleff

  2. Global Research and Development, General Motors, Warren, MI, 48092, USA

    Jon T. Carter & Louis G. Hector Jr.

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  1. Katherine E. Rader
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  2. Jon T. Carter
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  3. Louis G. Hector Jr.
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  4. Eric M. Taleff
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Correspondence to Katherine E. Rader.

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Manuscript submitted May 27, 2020; accepted December 14, 2020.

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Rader, K.E., Carter, J.T., Hector, L.G. et al. Retrogression and Reaging of AA7075 and AA6013 Aluminum Alloys. Metall Mater Trans A 52, 1006–1018 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-020-06133-0

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