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Study of Aluminum Alloy AA2219 After Heat Treatment

Article  in  Metal Science and Heat Treatment · October 2015

DOI: 10.1007/s11041-015-9888-0

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 Studies on Thermo-mechanical Treatment of Al alloy AA2219
R. K. Gupta*$, R. Panda$, A. K. Mukhopadhyay#, V. Anil Kumar$, P. Sankaravelayutham$, Koshy M. George$
$
Materials and Mechanical Entity, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum, India
#
Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad, India
*Corresponding author : Ph. 0471-2562484, Fax.: 0471-2705427, email: [email protected]

Abstract : Al alloy AA2219 has been the workhorse material for fabrication of propellant
tanks of launch vehicles owing to its very good mechanical properties, fabricability and
weldability. The alloy has very good response to heat treatment resulting in uniform
precipitation. Though it is used in various temper conditions, T87 temper is employed in
majority of applications of flat products due to highest mechanical properties for the alloy in
this temper condition. T87 temper is a combination of thermal and mechanical treatments,
which involves solution treatment and cold working (7%) followed by aging. Cold working
can be imparted mainly by three ways i.e. by cold rolling, stretching or through a
combination of these two. This paper presents the studies conducted on this alloy by
applying various combinations of cold working. An attempt is made to correlate the
mechanical properties with the amount and type of cold working.

1.0 Introduction
AA2219 aluminium alloy is a two-phase hypoeutectic alloy of Al-Cu with nominal
Cu content of 6.3 %. High strength, high ductility, superior resistance to cracking,
improved properties at cryogenic temperatures down to that of liquid hydrogen (LH2), good
response to fabrication, welding, corrosion resistance, stress corrosion resistance, etc. are the
outstanding features of this alloy [1-4]. AA2219 is used in T87 temper condition (i.e.
solution treated + 7% cold worked + aged) as the tank material for both liquid and cryogenic
stages of Launch Vehicles.
Thermo-mechanical Treatment (TMT) T87 involves deformation after solution
treatment. The rate and extent of strengthening during precipitation heat treatment are high
in some alloys after cold working and quenching, whereas other alloys show little or no
response to such treatment. Alloy AA2219 is particularly responsive to this treatment and
this characteristic is the basis for higher strength in T87 tempers [4].

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 The strength improvement accruing from the combination of cold working and
precipitation heat treatment is a result of an increased number of uniformly distributed
nucleation sites for precipitation that are created throughout the super-saturated solid
solution matrix by increased strain. Normally cold work is introduced by stretching.
However, other methods such as cold rolling or cold rolling followed by stress relieving by
stretching are also employed. Many studies have been made on precipitation of Al alloy
AA2219, but the effect of cold working method on mechanical properties has not been
reported. Subsequent aging treatment results in the growth of precipitate nuclei into fine
precipitates, which are responsible for the improved mechanical properties of the alloy. The
structure, distribution, size and response determine the degree to which these precipitates
increase the usefulness of the alloy. Even morphology of precipitates varies in different
temper conditions and accordingly it results in improved mechanical properties [5-7].

Similarly, ageing kinetics has an important role, which is a function of temperature

and no. of nucleation sites available for precipitation in the supersaturated solid solution
matrix. Normally every 10°C rise in temperature, aging kinetics gets doubled [4]. Particle
coarsening occurs when ageing is done for longer duration due to overaging. Thus it is
important to select the optimum time so as to achieve peak strength and to avoid overaging.
Considering the role of cold working and aging parameters in improving the properties of
alloy, the present study has been undertaken.

2.0 Experimental
Al alloy AA2219 slabs were made through Wagstaff melting and casting process.
Chemical composition of the slab is given in Table 1, which is within the specification of
alloy AA2219. The alloy was homogenized and hot-rolled to the thickness of 7.5 mm.
Thermo-mechanical treatment was carried out on coupons (30x300x7.5 mm) cut from hot
rolled plates. Coupons were cut from the plates in rolling directions and were used for
thermomechanical treatment. These coupons were then subjected to solution treatment at
535°C for 1 hr followed by quenching in water maintaining a quench delay of less than 6s.
Electrically heated muffle furnace having ±50C accuracy was used for solution treatment.

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 Table 1: Chemical composition of Al alloy AA2219 slab
Cu Mg Si Fe Mn Ti Zn Cr B Na V Zr Al
6.0 0.011 0.08 0.19 0.27 0.068 0.022 0.002 0.0013 0.0012 0.058 0.14 Bal.

Solution treated coupons were given specified amount of cold working. Different
combinations of cold rolling and stretching were taken up for study (Table 2) and were
imparted on coupons. For each particular combination, 4 coupons were used to ensure the
repeatability in processing as well as in final mechanical properties. 2-Hi rolling mill was
used for cold working while universal tensile testing machine (UTM) was employed for
stretching small samples. Cold working process was completed within 3 hrs of solution
treatment.
Three different aging temperatures with three variations in aging time (Table 2) were
selected to understand the aging response of the alloy. Aging was carried out in air
circulating electrically heated muffle furnace with ±30C accuracy. Different combinations of
thermo-mechanical parameters were studied (Table 2). Simultaneously, heat treatment was
also carried out for T6 and T4 temper conditions (Table 2) in order to study the strength
capability of material in such temper conditions.
Tensile test specimens were prepared from the precipitation hardened samples. Grip
area of the coupon was removed and only stretched area was taken for specimen fabrication
ensuring that only thermo-mechanically treated part of the samples is tested for mechanical
properties. Similarly, specimens were also taken for hardness measurement and
microstructural observations. Tensile test was carried out in INSTRON 4206 UTM and
grips of the same specimens were taken for optical microscopy. Conventional specimen
preparation technique was used for optical microstructure study and Olympus make optical
microscope was used for examining the same. Keller’s reagent was used for etching.
Fractography of tensile tested specimens was carried out under environmental scanning
electron microscope model INCA Penta FET X3.

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Table 2: Combination of % cold work, aging temperature and aging time studied
Temper condition Cold working Aging treatment
T87 6% cold reduction by rolling + 1% cold 1650C 30 hrs (A1)
reduction by stretching 24 hrs (A2)
18 hrs (A3)
1750C 30 hrs (A4)
24 hrs (A5)
18 hrs (A6)
1850C 24 hrs (A7)
18 hrs (A8)
12 hrs (A9)
T87 5% cold reduction by rolling + 2% cold 1650C 30 hrs (B1)
reduction by stretching 24 hrs (B2)
18 hrs (B3)
1750C 30 hrs (B4)
24 hrs (B5)
18 hrs (B6)
1850C 24 hrs (B7)
18 hrs (B8)
12 hrs (B9)
T87exp 5% cold reduction by rolling + 3% cold 1650C 30 hrs (C1)
reduction by stretching 24 hrs (C2)
18 hrs (C3)
1750C 30 hrs (C4)
24 hrs (C5)
18 hrs (C6)
1850C 24 hrs (C7)
18 hrs (C8)
12 hrs (C9)
Experimental T8 8% cold reduction by rolling 1650C, 24 hrs
7% cold reduction by rolling
6% cold reduction by rolling
4% cold reduction by rolling
2% cold reduction by rolling
8% cold reduction by stretching 1650C, 24 hrs
7% cold reduction by stretching
6% cold reduction by stretching
4% cold reduction by stretching
2% cold reduction by stretching
8% cold reduction by stretching 1750C, 24 hrs
7% cold reduction by stretching
6% cold reduction by stretching
4% cold reduction by stretching
2% cold reduction by stretching
T6 Nil 1650C, 24 hrs
1750C, 24 hrs
1850C, 24 hrs
T4 Nil Natural aging

4
3.0 Results and Discussions
Tensile properties of thermo-mechanically treated alloy specimens are presented in
Fig. 1. Lowest value of three tensile tested specimens is presented (Fig. 1). Comparing the
yield strength, among the all sets of samples, those having combinations of cold working
6+1 (6% by cold rolling + 1% by stretching) and 5+2 (5% by cold rolling + 2% by
stretching) when aged at temperatures of 165°C and 175°C for 24 hours and 18 hours
respectively have given peak strength values. It is due to the presence of strengthening
precipitates θ’ in the peak-aged condition [4-8]. Higher strength could not be achieved in the
same cold working combination when aged at 185°C. This may be due to coarsening of
precipitates at higher aging temperature. It is also observed that 5+3 % (5% by cold rolling
+ 3% by stretching) cold working has not yielded any specific increase in strength, which
may be due to coarsening of precipitate [9]. This confirms that % deformation beyond 7%
does not change the properties of material and it is the optimum deformation required to
obtain the maximum strength. Similar trend is seen in the case of ultimate tensile strength
also, which shows that strength is highest for 6+1 and 5+2 combination of cold working
after aging at temperatures 165°C and 175°C. % elongation is found to be 12-14% with
marginal changes under various conditions.

Fig. 1: Tensile strength of specimens in different combinations of cold working and aging

5
 Accordingly, 6% cold rolling followed by 1% stretching and aging at 1650C for 24
hrs or 5% rolling with 2% stretching and aging at 1650C for 24 can be used in industrial
level processing. Any further increase in % of pre age cold working is not useful. Lower
temperature and longer time of aging is better in view of the controlled kinetics and large
vol. fraction of smaller size of precipitates [4, 6]. Therefore 1650C aging temperature can be
selected.

Table 3: Mechanical properties of specimens treated at experimental T8, T6 and T4 tempers

Temper Cold working Aging Mechanical properties
condition treatment YS, MPa UTS, MPa %El
Experimental 8% cold reduction by rolling 1650C, 24 hrs 325-338 410-425 10-11
T8 7% cold reduction by rolling 359-370 460-461 11-12
6% cold reduction by rolling 347-352 436-440 9-10
4% cold reduction by rolling 324-340 419-432 10
2% cold reduction by rolling 312-324 408-412 10-11
0
8% cold reduction by stretching 165 C, 24 hrs 303-315 381-385 12-13
7% cold reduction by stretching 352-364 438-452 11-12
6% cold reduction by stretching 322-385 410-470 11-13
4% cold reduction by stretching 310-316 391-409 13
2% cold reduction by stretching 303-313 400-401 12
0
8% cold reduction by stretching 175 C, 24 hrs 282-300 366-370 11-12
7% cold reduction by stretching 340-354 430-442 11-12
6% cold reduction by stretching 310-315 396-400 12-13
4% cold reduction by stretching 315-320 402-410 12
2% cold reduction by stretching 287-295 371-375 11-12
T6 Nil 1650C, 24 hrs 245-280 363-393 14-18
0
175 C, 24 hrs 271-330 379-415 13-14
1850C, 24 hrs 218-219 334-352 14-16
T4 Nil Natural aging 194-195 334-344 22-25

From the above plot (Fig. 1), it is clear that aging temperature of 1650C and 1750C
for 24 hrs and 18 hrs respectively is resulting in peak strength in different combination of %
cold working. Accordingly, it is also experimented that using this aging temperature and
time, material is given cold working only by one method (either by cold rolling or by
stretching). In this condition mechanical properties are presented in Table 3. It is again
confirmed that that 7% cold working (by any method) is optimum and higher cold working
does not increase the mechanical properties of the alloy. Even though mechanical properties
are met either by only cold rolling or only by stretching, combination of these two (major

6
part by cold rolling i.e. 5-6% and small amount by stretching 1-2%) is better taking into
account the practical aspects (considering difficulty in large amount of stretching in
industrial scale) and also advantages obtained in terms of stress relief (1-2% stretching takes
care of residual stresses). Hence, 5-6% cold rolling and 1-2% cold stretching can be used at
industrial level for T87 temper condition. In T6 and T4 temper conditions alloy gives
maximum yield strength of upto 336 MPa with 1750C of aging for 24 hrs. These tempers do
not result in highest strength and so T 87 temper is mostly used for this alloy.
Optical photomicrograph showed mixture of elongated and partially recrystalized
grain structure with insoluble particles (Fe, Si containing compounds, dark). A
representative photomicrograph is presented in Fig. 2. Scanning Electron Microscope
fractography of tensile tested fracture surfaces was found to be populated by ductile dimples
containing Al2Cu and Fe bearing insolubles acting as void nucleating particles (Fig. 3). It is
also observed that tearing of grain boundary takes place, when % cold working is higher
(>7%). This can also limit further increase in strength of material.

µm
50µ

Fig. 2: Representative optical photomicrograph of thermo-mechanically treated alloy plate

7
 a b

c d

Fig. 3: SEM fractographs showing (a-b) tearing of grain boundary alongwith particle when
% cold work is > 7%, (c-d) fine dimples with Fe (dark needle shape) and Al2Cu particles
(light globular shape)

Conclusions
1. For T87 temper of Al alloy AA2219, ageing cycle of 165°C/ 24 hrs or 175°C/ 18 hrs can
be employed to achieve peak strength in AA2219 alloy in any of the three combinations
of cold working i.e. either by cold rolling or combination of 5-6% by cold rolling + 1-
2% by stretching.
2. UTS of 438MPa (min.), YS of 352MPa (min.) and elongation of 11% (min.) can be
achieved using above ageing parameters for 7% cold working (T87 temper).
3. UTS of 379MPa (min.), YS of 271MPa (min.) and elongation of 12.5% (min.) can be
achieved in T6 temper with 1750C aging for 24 hrs.

Acknowledgements: Authors thank Director, VSSC for permitting to publish the work.

8
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