T6 Heat Treatment - An Overview - ScienceDirect Topics

7/27/2021 T6 Heat Treatment - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
T6 Heat Treatment
Related terms:
Carbon Nanotubes, Heat Treatment, Selective Laser Melting, Hardness, Tensile
Strength, High Pressure Die Casting, Metal Matrix Composite, Casting Process,
Semisolid
Additive Manufacturing of Aluminium-Based Alloys

and Composites
Sri Lathabai, in Fundamentals of Aluminium Metallurgy, 2018
Postbuild Heat Treatments and Fatigue Resistance

AlSi10Mg alloy made by conventional casting is normally subjected to a T6 heat
treatment in which solution treatment is carried out at around 530°C followed by
ageing at temperatures in the range 150–180°C, with a view to achieving
precipitation hardening by via Mg2Si [79]. Various investigators have examined the
effect of applying a similar heat treatment, which they refer to as “T6-like,” to SLM
fabricated AlSi10Mg [34,80–83]. The rapid cooling rates and steep thermal
gradients associated with a localized high energy input result in residual stresses
and can lead to distortion and warping of the built parts. Buchbinder et al. showed
that significant reduction in distortion occurred when a build platform preheating
temperature of 150°C was used; at 250°C, distortion could no longer be detected
[36]. There was a slight lowering of the microhardness of the built part, but this was
still higher than the specified value for a die-cast AlSi10Mg.
Application of the T6 heat treatment results in a decrease of the tensile and yield
strengths but a significant increase in ductility as measured by elongation
[34,63,80–83]. Microstructural examination of the heat-treated samples show that
rejection of Si occurred from the supersaturated α-Al matrix to form small Si
particles, which coarsen with ageing (Fig. 2.9) [83]. Aboulkhair et al. commented on
the misconception that SLM AlSi10Mg alloy is hardenable using a T6 heat
treatment as their study showed that in fact softening occurred rather than
hardening, improving the material's ductility without a significant decrease in
strength. They suggested that appropriate heat treatments may need to be
designed, taking into consideration the unique as-built microstructure of SLM
AlSi10Mg [81].
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/t6-heat-treatment 1/16
Fig. 2.9. Optical micrographs of SLM AlSi10Mg in (A) as-built and (B) T6 heat
treated conditions.
From I. Maskery, N.T. Aboulkhair, C. Tuck, R.D. Wildman, I.A. Ashcroft, N.M. Everitt, et al., Fatigue
performance enhancement of selectively laser melted aluminium alloy by heat treatment,
Proceedings of the 26th International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, University of Texas,
Austin, TX, 2015, pp. 1017–1025.
The effect of a T6-like heat treatment on the mechanical behaviour of SLM

AlSi10Mg, in particular fatigue performance, has been investigated [24,84–86]. The
fatigue experiments were conducted on as-built specimens as well as after
machining and after T6 heat treatment [81,84] and the influences of the build
direction and hatch spacing were studied [24,86]. The characteristically fine
microstructure in the as-built samples provided good fatigue crack propagation
resistance. The heat treatment increased the material's ductility, significantly
improving its fatigue performance (Fig. 2.10). At 94 MPa, the heat-treated samples
survived beyond the nominal fatigue life, outperforming the reference cast
material. The combined effect of machining and heat treatment yielded parts with
far superior fatigue properties, thus enabling a wider range of applications [84,85].
Both hatch spacing and build orientation affected the mechanical properties, and
in particular the ductility (reduction in area) and fatigue resistance. A new
observation from Tang et al. is that the defects from which the fatigue failure
initiated were associated with relatively large (micron-sized or larger) oxides; these
oxides likely formed by oxidation of vaporized metal during SLM [24,86].
Fig. 2.10. (A) Tensile stress–strain curves for SLM AlSi10Mg in the as-built and T6
heat treated condition; (B) S–N curves of as-built (black circles) and heat treated (red
triangles) SLM AlSi10Mg specimens. A log–log plot is provided inset, along with
corresponding linear fits.
From I. Maskery, N.T. Aboulkhair, C. Tuck, R.D. Wildman, I.A. Ashcroft, N.M. Everitt, et al., Fatigue
performance enhancement of selectively laser melted aluminium alloy by heat treatment,
Proceedings of the 26th International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, University of Texas,
Austin, TX, 2015, pp. 1017–1025.
Hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) is often used to close internal pores in powder
metallurgy parts and is also frequently applied for Ti–6Al–4V parts fabricated by
AM. There is only one report on the use of HIP on Al parts built by AM. Tradowsky
et al. studied the impact of thermal postprocessing using HIPing (at 530°C,
100 MPa for 2 h) and/or T6 heat treatment, postprocess machining, as well as the
build orientation on the microstructural and mechanical properties development in
SLM AlSi10Mg alloy [87]. Voids, mostly due to oxide films, were observed using
Micro-CT in the as-fabricated condition. HIPing collapsed most voids, showing
virtually no trace even after a further T6 treatment. Generally, the tensile properties
of the majority of the conditions were significantly better than that of a cast + T6
equivalent alloy. Postprocess machining was also found to improve the strength
(compared to the as-fabricated surface). However, HIPing + T6 allowed the builds
to achieve the required tensile properties, without surface machining [87].
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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081020630000023
Multiaxial Fatigue and Fracture

Takamoto Itoh, ... Masateru Ohnami, in European Structural Integrity Society, 1999
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
The material tested was 6061 aluminum alloy (6061 Al alloy) which received T6 heat
treatment. Mises’ equivalent total strain controlled nonproportional low cycle
fatigue tests were carried out using hollow cylinder specimens with 9 mm inner
diameter, 12 mm outer diameter and 6.4 mm gage length as shown in Fig.1. Test
machine used was a tension-compression and reversed torsion electric servo
hydraulic low cycle fatigue machine.
Fig.1. Shape and dimensions of the specimen tested (mm).
Figure 2 shows strain paths employed, where ε and γ are the axial and shear
strains, respectively. Case 0 is a push-pull test and is the base data used for the
nonproportional life prediction. Total axial strain range was varied from 0.5 % to
1.5 %. Strain paths shown in the figure were determined so as to make clear the
various effects in nonproportional straining (9). In strain paths 1-13, the total axial
strain range, Δε, had the same strain magnitude as the total shear strain range,
Δγ, on Mises’ equivalent basis.
Fig.2. Proportional and nonproportional strain paths.
In this paper, one cycle is defined as full straining for both axial and shear cycles.
Thus, a complete straining along the strain paths shown in Fig.2 was counted as
one cycle for all the Cases except Case 3 and 4. In Case 3 and 4, a complete cycling
was counted as two cycles. The number of cycles to failure (Nf) was defined as the
cycle at which the axial stress amplitude was decreased by 5 % from its cyclically
stable value.
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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566136999800065
New Hypoeutectic/Hypereutectic Die-Casting Alloys

and New Permanent Mould Casting Alloys That Rely on
Strontium for Their Die Soldering Resistance
Raymond J. Donahue, Roger N. Lumley, in Fundamentals of Aluminium
Metallurgy, 2018
6.7.2 T5 Results
The T5 heat treatment for die casters offers unique advantages that start with the
process being capable of retaining more solute in solution for the ageing response
than other casting processes in the as-cast condition. The T6 heat treatment for die
casters may penalize the die caster compared to other casting processes because
die castings may blister, due to trapped tip lube, die lube, and air, at solution heat-
treating temperatures in less than the solution heat times used in sand and PM
casting, even if high-vacuum die casting is used. Methods to solution treat high-
pressure die castings for the development of properties have been developed (e.g.
Refs. [11–17]). However, because die castings generally have thinner walls and are
more intricate in their design than sand casting or PM casting, there is a tendency
for die castings to distort on quenching, especially when solution treatment at high
temperatures is required. Alloys 7, 9, and 10 from Table 6.13 were aged at times
from 1 h up to 7 h at temperatures of 170°C, 180°C, or 190°C to evaluate the T5
ageing response. The combined results are presented in Fig. 6.20 [30]. As may be
appreciated, the results are similar in terms of the evolution of yield stress or of
tensile strength for each respective condition. However, it is also clear that the
elongation improves stepwise as the Fe content is reduced, and is largely
irrespective of the temper applied. The combined quality index values are plotted in
Fig. 6.21, and this again highlights that Fe content plays a direct, major role in
relative quality at all conditions. The three ageing curves from Fig. 6.20 may
effectively be drawn as horizontal straight lines of constant quality index in Fig.
6.21. For any given Fe content, quality index is approximately the same.
Fig. 6.20. T5 ageing treatments at 170°C, 180°C, and 190°C and the influence of
Iron. See text for details.
Fig. 6.21. Comparison of the quality index = UTS + 150 log E for alloys of 0.99% Fe,
0.45% Fe, and 0.27% Fe that were aged at 170°C, 180°C, and 190°C for up to 7 h.
Note, QI plots are horizontal lines.
Table 6.16 and Fig. 6.22 [30] show the tensile mechanical properties as a function
of Mg content, for the (T5) condition of 2°h ageing at 190°C. These results show
that there is a direct relationship between Mg content and the evolution of
mechanical properties. As Mg content is raised the yield strength increases and the
elongation decreases. In spite of this, the quality index remains constant, as was
the case for the as-cast alloy, reflecting the fact that Mg is not detrimental to the
quality of the casting. This is in contrast to the role of Fe, shown in Figs 6.18 and
6.21.
Table 6.16. Influence of Magnesium Concentration on T5 Mechanical Properties at

Peak Hardness Conditions (See Also Fig. 6.22)
Alloy Mg 0.2% YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) Elongation (%) QI (MPa)
6 0.37 229 328 4.3 423
7 0.54 245 342 3.9 431
8 0.66 257 350 3.3 428
Fig. 6.22. Influence of Mg content on T5 mechanical properties at peak hardness

condition (2 h at 190°C).
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Casting, Semi-Solid Forming and Hot Metal Forming

P. Kapranos, ... T. Haga, in Comprehensive Materials Processing, 2014
5.02.3.2.4 Heat Treating

Until recently, die castings have generally been used in the as-cast condition, as
excessive surface blistering occurs when the castings are heated to the high
temperatures associated with solution heat treatment. However, recent
developments have shown that the mechanical properties of aluminum die
castings can be significantly improved by giving them either a T4, T5, or T6 heat
treatment. The conditions to produce each heat treated temper for die castings are
listed in Table 3 (29,30).
Table 3. Heat treatment conditions for each temper for conventional die casting
Temper Optimum solution treatment Quench Aging (T6

temper)
T4 480–505 °C. Note that the time Hot or cold water 22 °C for 4 days
between 420 °C and the quench from minimum
maximum temperature ideally solution heat (stabilized
should not exceed 10 min (i.e., 15 treatment condition)
min total immersion) furnace
T5 None Hot or cold water 170–180 °C for

quench 1–8 h
immediately after
castings are
ejected from the
die
T6 480–505 °C. Note that the time Hot or cold water 150 °C for 16–24
between 420 °C and the quench from h (best); 180 °C
maximum temperature ideally solution heat for 2.5–4 h may
should not exceed 10 min (i.e., 15 treatment be preferred for
min total immersion) furnace some alloys
Reproduced from Lumley, R. N. Technical Data Sheets for Heat Treated

Aluminum High-pressure Die Castings. Die Cast. Eng. September 2008, 32;
Midson, Stephen P.; Brennan, Jeffrey. Preliminary Mechanical Properties of T5
Heat-treated Conventional C380 Die Castings (Part 1). Die Cast. Eng. July 2009,
30.
Research performed in Australia (29,31) has shown that blistering can be avoided
when heat treating conventional die castings to the T4 or T6 temper, as long as the
solution heat treatment is kept short and performed at a slightly lower temperature
(see Table 3). As shown in Table 4, mechanical properties in either the T4 or T6
temper are significantly improved over as-cast properties.
Table 4. Mechanical properties for A380 conventional die castings heat treated to
the T4 or T6 temper
Temper 0.2% YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) Elongation (%)
T4 217 387 4.1
T6 320–352 404–441 3.0–3.4
Reproduced from Lumley, R. N. Microstructure-property Relationships in

Heat-treated Aluminum High Pressure Die Castings: Recent Advances. Die
Cast. Eng. July 2010, 28.
However, for die casters not familiar with performing solution heat treatments,
there can still be issues associated with heating castings at such high temperatures,
including achieving the required temperature tolerance, and the high equipment
investment costs. Preliminary research (30) has also demonstrated that simple T5
heat treatments can provide increases in the yield strength of between 50% and
80% for 380-type die castings containing 0.3% magnesium (see Figure 6). As
shown in Table 3, these T5 heat treatments simply involve water quenching the
castings immediately upon ejection followed by aging at a relatively low
temperature.
Figure 6. T5 aging curves at 170 °C for C380-type die castings containing 0.32%
magnesium (Courtesy North American Die Casting Association).
Reproduced from Midson, Stephen P.; Brennan, Jeffrey Preliminary Mechanical Properties of T5
Heat-treated Conventional C380 Die Castings (Part 1). Die Cast. Eng. July 2009, 30.
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Casting, Semi-Solid Forming and Hot Metal Forming

E.J. Zoqui, in Comprehensive Materials Processing, 2014
5.09.3.1.2 A319 and A319S Aluminum Alloys

Although they are less widely used in commercial semisolid technology operations,
A319 and particularly A319S as well as the A355 alloys have potential as semisolid
raw materials due to their excellent final mechanical properties. Table 1 lists the
range of chemical compositions of the two alloys; their expected phase
transformation will be discussed later. Figure 9 shows the A319S phase diagram,
with the expected copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, and titanium content (the
amount of zinc in A319S is negligible) usually found in these alloys. In this case,
the high amount of copper results in the preponderance of a new phase,
Al5Cu2Mg8Si6 (close to Al–20.3 wt% Cu–31.3 wt% Mg–27 wt% Si). This solid
solution may dissolve into the AlFCC phase, increasing the amount of copper in the
α phase and thus augmenting the amount of Al2Cu associated with the classical
precipitation hardening achieved through T5 and T6 heat treatments.
Figure 9. Aluminum–silicon phase diagram of A319S alloy predicted by Thermo-

Calc® software, showing the expected iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn),
magnesium (Mg), and titanium (Ti) content usually found in these alloys.
The phase diagram in Figure 9 shows that in the A319 and A319S alloys with silicon
content of 5.5–6.5 wt%, a small amount of stable Ti4MnAl4 is expected to remain at
high temperatures, which can act as a grain refiner. Titanium and copper generally
produce a more refined microstructure than that obtained in A356/357 alloys.
Thus, solidification may start at the surface of these small stable particles and
continue with the solidification of the almost pure aluminum (AlFCC), segregating
copper and other elements into the liquid. This is followed by the formation of
saturated solid α phase.
The light blue area defines the presence of AlFCC plus α and the remaining liquid,
in which all SSP is done. This is followed by the formation of the eutectic phase,
which is highlighted in pink. In this case, a comparison of the eutectic
transformation shown in Figure 5 for the A356/357 and the A319/319S shown in
Figure 9 reveals the significant difference of the initial and final temperatures of
eutectic phase formation. As can be seen, the eutectic transformation occurs in a
nonequilibrium condition due to the low mobility of the tertiary elements that
hinder the formation of lamellar AlFCC and/or α/Si phase. The eutectic
transformation close to the equilibrium condition shown in Figure 3 is not
possible, but will occur over a large temperature range, which, for these alloys, is
expected at a minimum of 480 °C and a maximum of 562 °C.
After the coexistence of these three phases, the precipitation of Al5Cu2Mg8Si6 (or
close to Al–20.3 wt% Cu–31.3 wt% Mg–27 wt% Si) is expected. Therefore, the
expected microstructure at room temperature will be a mixture of areas with
almost pure aluminum, (AlFCC), the α structure (Al18Fe4Cu4Mn4Si3, or Al–17.6 wt%
Fe–20 wt% Cu–17 wt% Mn–6.6 wt% Si), Al5Cu2Mg8Si6 precipitates (or Al–20.3
wt% Cu–31.3 wt% Mg–27 wt% Si), and eutectic AlFCC and/or α/Si phase.
Figure 10 depicts the general solid ↔ liquid transition in the semisolid area of
interest of A319 and A319S alloys, i.e., the area ranging from the solidus to the
liquidus temperature shown in the aluminum–silicon–copper phase diagram
presented in Figure 9, using the average content of tertiary elements and the
minimum/maximum silicon content (Table 1). The lower content of copper and
iron in A319S alloy is evidenced by the position of the eutectic ‘knee,’ which is
formed at a temperature at least 7 °C higher than in the A319 alloy. It is important
to note that the melting of the eutectic, characterized by the ‘knee’ in the solid–
liquid curve, also occurs in the 0.4–0.6 interval, as in the case of A356/A357 alloys,
but in this case, the recommended processing temperature is lower, i.e., 570/575
°C.
Figure 10. Semisolid transformation of A319 and A319S alloys obtained by

Thermo-Calc® simulation software.
Table 3 shows the expected mechanical properties of A319 and A319S near-net-
shape pieces produced by rheocasting or thixoforming processing. In such cases,
all the pieces are subjected to T6 heat treatment due to the need to solubilize the
copper. For the A319, it is recommended to perform solubilization at 500 °C for 4–
6 h, followed by quenching in water or air cooling, and reheating to 170 °C for 3–5
h. For the A319S, whose iron and copper content is lower, 5–8 h at 500 °C, cooling,
and reheating to 170 °C for 8–11 h is recommended.
Table 3. Basic mechanical properties of A319 and A319S aluminum alloys

commonly used in semisolid casting
Property A319 – F A319 – T6 A319S – T6
Yield strength (MPa) 95 152–185 317
Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) 193 234–255 400
Elongation (%) 2 2–6 5
Hardness (BHN) 70–100 75–105 119
Data obtained from NADCA. Product Specification Standards for Die Castings
Produced by Semi-Solid and Squeeze Casting Process, 4th ed.; NADCA (North
American Die Casting Association) Standards: Wheeling, IL, USA, Publication
No. 403, 2006; and http://www.matweb.com/ (accessed Feb, 2012).
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The 10 Rules for Good Castings

John Campbell, in Complete Casting Handbook (Second Edition), 2015
10.9.11 Epilogue
Although the strength of the material will therefore be lowered by a slower quench,
the strength of the component (i.e. the failure resistance of the complete casting
acting as a load bearing part) in service will be increased.
If water quench is avoided with a view to avoiding the dangers of internal residual
stress, it is common for the customer to complain about the 5% or so loss of
apparent properties. In answer to such understandable questions, an appropriate
reply to focus attention on the real issue might be ‘Mr. Customer, with respect, do
you wish to lose 5% or 50% of your properties?’
In the experience of the author, several examples of castings that have been slowly
quenched, losing 5–10% of their strength, are demonstrated to double their
performance in service. This was the case for a roadside compressor casting
subjected to a full T6 heat treatment. The compressor housing exploded in service,
fortunately not resulting in any injury to passersby. After the second explosion the
manufacturer requested help. I recommended a stress relief treatment. This was
declared to be impossible because it was claimed the compressor housing needed
maximum strength. Despite the reservations of the manufacturer, stress relieved
castings (that had only half the strength of the fully heat treated product) were
tested to destruction in comparison with fully heat-treated castings. The stress-
relieved products proved twice as resistant to failure under pressure compared with
the fully heat-treated parts with the metallurgically ‘strong’ alloy.
Finally, therefore, it remains deeply regrettable, actually a scandal, that many
national standards for heat treatment continue to specify water quenching without
any warning of the dangers for certain geometries of casting. This disgraceful
situation requires to be remedied. In the meantime, the author deeply regrets to
have to recommend that such national standards be set aside. It is easy for the
casting supplier to take refuge in the fact that our international and national
standards on heat treatment often demand quenching into water and thereby
avoid the issue that such a production practice is risky for many components—and
in any case provides the user with a casting of inferior performance. However, the
ethics of the situation are clear. We are not doing our duty as responsible
engineers and as members of society if we continue to ignore these crucial
questions. We threaten the performance of the whole component merely to fulfil a
piece of metallurgical technology that from the first has been woefully misguided.
Our inappropriate heat treatments have been costly to carry out and have resulted
in costly failures. It has to be admitted that this has been nothing short of a
catastrophe for the engineering world for the past half-century, and particularly for
the reputation of light-alloy castings, not to mention the misfortune of users. As a
result of the unsuspected presence of bifilms, they have suffered poor reliability so
far, but as a result of the unsuspected presence of residual stress, this has
been made considerably worse by an unthinking quest for material strength
regardless of component performance.
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Surface engineered light alloys for sports equipment

J. Chen, in Surface Engineering of Light Alloys, 2010
16.2.1 Cycling
Interest in reducing the weight of competition bicycles originated in the thought
that the weight of the bicycles can influence the performance of racing cyclists.
Generally, it is believed that the less weight, the better the performance (Buchanan,
2003; Brown, 2008; Jenkins, 2003). In practice, bicycle manufacturers even consider
that parts that give reliable service might be ‘overbuilt’, and redesign these to save a
few grams.
The major part of a bicycle is the frame, which is usually made from one of five
different materials: steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon composite or magnesium
(Brown, 2008; Jenkins, 2003). High-strength steel is the most traditional frame
material. Steel frames generally are heavier than those made from the other four
materials. To reduce their weight, large diameter thin-wall tubing design has been
adopted to build the frames (Jenkins, 2003). In theory, by significantly increasing
the tube size and reducing the wall thickness, a much lighter frame can be
obtained. However, this is not practical because of two reasons. Firstly, the thinner
the walls of the tubing, the more difficult it is to make a good joint. This is the
reason for butting tubes; the walls get thicker near the ends, where the tubes come
together with other tubes. In addition, if the walls get too thin, the tubes become
too easy to bend, and connection points for bottle cages, cable stops, shifter bosses
and the like have inadequate support. Therefore, light materials such as aluminum
alloys, titanium alloys, carbon fiber and magnesium alloys are used in their
production. In this section this application is briefly introduced.
Aluminum alloys
In pure form, aluminum is so soft that it cannot be used as a structural part. To
increase its strength and other mechanical properties, it is normal to add various
alloying elements and apply sequential heat treatments. Aluminum alloy 6061 and
alloys of the 7000 series are most commonly used in the production of bicycle
frames (Easton Sports). The 6061 aluminum alloy (Al-Mg-Si) contains 0.8–1.2 Mg,
0.4–0.8Si and 0.15–0.4Cu (wt%). It shows good corrosion resistance, strength and
weldability (Kearney, 1990). The 7000 series alloys (Al-Zn-Mg-(Cu)) have the highest
strength of all aluminum alloys. The 7005 Al-4.0-5.0Zn-1.0-1.8 Mg) and 7075 (Al-
5.1-6.1Zn-2.1-2.9 Mg-(1.2-2.0Cu)) alloys are used to produce frames. 7075
aluminum alloy is also widely used in the aero industry.
Normally, these aluminum alloys need proper heat treatment after welding to
achieve good mechanical properties. Age hardening is used to form hard
precipitates to increase their strength. For example, the strength of the 6061
aluminum alloy can be increased by two to five times using T6 heat treatment
(solution plus artificial aging) (Kearney, 1990). As mentioned earlier, another
benefit arising from aluminum frames is good corrosion resistance. Once exposed
to air, aluminum is readily oxidized to form a dense and thin aluminum oxide
surface film. Such a film is a barrier to further oxidation.
In order to reduce the stiffness of aluminum frames, new designs have also been
explored, such as increasing the tube wall thickness or changing the shape of the
cross-over tube.
Titanium alloys
In the 1960s, titanium alloys were firstly used to make bicycle frames in the United
States. The most commonly used titanium alloy is Ti-6Al-4 V, which possesses low
density and good strength, which can reach 1160 MPa after aging treatment (Eylon
et al., 1990), good fatigue strength and excellent corrosion resistance. Wheelchairs
using titanium tubing can also be found in the market for people with disability.
This is attributed not only to its light weight but also good shock absorbing ability.
However, titanium alloys are expensive due to the difficulty in extracting titanium
from its ore. Moreover, titanium welding requires an inert atmosphere because of
its strong affinity to oxygen. Thus, the cost of titanium products is significantly
higher than that of aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and steels (Eylon et al.,
1990).
It is believed by many cyclists that bicycle frames made from aluminum and
titanium alloys are not rigid enough because of their lower stiffness than steel.
However, Ian Buchanan has tested the torsion stiffness of the rear triangle and
vertical frame compliance of various common frame designs (Buchanan, 2003) and
found that these properties are decided by the size, shape and wall thickness of the
tubing used, and the manufacturing technique, rather than the materials
themselves.
Magnesium alloys
The density of magnesium is as low as 1.74 g/cm3, about 1/5 that of iron, 2/3 that
of aluminum and 2/5 that of titanium. The strength-to-weight ratios of
magnesium alloys are normally higher than those of aluminum alloys. Therefore, it
is possible to produce lightweight frames using magnesium alloys. Moreover, their
excellent anti-shock property is better than those of aluminum alloys and titanium
alloys. From the environmental angle, magnesium alloys are easy to be recycled
and are so called ‘green materials’.
The main concerns using magnesium alloys are their low stiffness and poor
corrosion resistance. To address the first concern, new designs and alloys are used;
for example, the wall thickness of the tubes is increased so as to improve stiffness.
Regarding the corrosion resistance, magnesium is very active, reacting with oxygen
in the air. Magnesium cannot be used in its pure form. However, by adding
aluminum, zinc, manganese, etc., its corrosion resistance can be greatly improved.
At the same time, its strength and mechanical properties can also be enhanced.
As described above, the frame is the largest part of a bicycle. Light materials are
successfully used to produce frames that reduce the weight of bicycles. There are
also other parts made from light materials, for example, gears, steering bars, seat
posts, wheels, chains, bearings and cranks. The successful adoption of light
materials has boosted cycling as a sport.
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A Small-Strain Viscoplasticity Theory Based on

Overstress
Erhard Krempl, in Unified Constitutive Laws of Plastic Deformation, 1996
3 Influence of Equilibrium Stress Growth Laws

In this section, the difference in the predictions of VBO for the differently
formulated growth laws of Eq. (6), called the Yao version, and of Eq. (9), called the
Lee version, will be illustrated using numerical experiments. For each type of
loading, the numerical experiments are performed using Eq. (6) or Eq. (9). No other
changes are introduced. Note that the difference in the two versions is only the
direction of the dynamic recovery term in the growth law for the equilibrium stress.
The material constants are taken from Yao and Krempl (1985) and pertain to the
6061 Al alloy in T6 heat-treatment condition.
Figure 7 shows the behavior predicted in repeated loading and unloading in strain
control at a constant strain rate magnitude. Both versions predict the same stress-
strain behavior.
Figure 8 shows the same graph, but this time the variation of the state variables is
also plotted. It is seen that the path of the equilibrium stress closely follows that of
the stress. The kinematic stress is small but is responsible for modeling the small
work-hardening slope.
FIGURE 8. Same as Figure 7 with the evolution of the state variables.
Krempl and Gleason (1996) demonstrate that no difference exists between the two
versions in proportional cycling. Since the isotropic stress is constant, cyclic neutral
behavior is modeled under completely reversed strain-controlled conditions.
The situation changes when nonproportional loadings are considered. Figure 9
depicts the behavior in 90° out-of-phase cycling. The two growth laws predict a
considerably different behavior. Yao and Krempl (1985) show that the Yao version
models real experiments very well. Thus for this Al alloy, the predictions of the Lee
version would not be acceptable.
FIGURE 9. The predictions of the Yao and Lee models in 90° out-of-phase cyclic
loading: (a) Axial response; (b) torsional response.
To analyze the differences, Eq. (6) and Eq. (9) are specialized for the axial-torsion
loading to yield
(25)
(26)
for the Yao model. For the Lee version we have

(27)
(28)
In the above, the argument of the shape function Ψ and the viscosity function k
has not been written for brevity.
Figure 9 shows that the differences originate at a point during unloading where the
respective overstress component appears to change sign and the respective stress
rate component is negative. Both stress components are present at this point.
Therefore, the invariants are not zero. At this point, the second term on the right-
hand sides of Eq. (27) or (28) is zero. This is not the case for Eq. (25) or (26), where
the term proportional to the respective equilibrium stress minus the kinematic
stress component contributes negatively and increases the magnitude of the
respective equilibrium stress rate component. At a zero respective overstress
component, a greater magnitude of the respective equilibrium stress rate exists for
the Yao version than for the Lee version. This difference continues until the
equilibrium stress minus the kinematic stress components change sign, which is
close to zero stress; see Fig. 8 as a typical example of the evolution of the kinematic
stress.
It is seen that the direction of the dynamic recovery term can have a significant
effect on the prediction of the model.
Burlet and Cailletaud (1987) have a model similar to the Lee version. The influence
of the direction of the dynamic recovery term was also investigated by Freed et al.
(1991a, b, c), and it is stated that the two versions predict “vastly different transient
responses” (Freed et al., 1991b, p. 166). Here we have shown that the steady-state
response can also be very different.
Other instances of different predictions are given by Krempl and Gleason (1996).
The examples presented here point to the importance of considering not only
uniaxial loadings but also the biaxial situation when a model is to represent
material behavior in complex loadings. Although the Yao version was well suited
for modeling the behavior of the Al alloy, the situation may be completely different
for another alloy. Only the comparison between prediction and experimental
results can give confidence in the validity of a model under complex loadings.
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7/27/2021 T6 Heat Treatment - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Additive Manufacturing of Aluminium-Based Alloys

Postbuild Heat Treatments and Fatigue Resistance

The effect of a T6-like heat treatment on the mechanical behaviour of SLM

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Multiaxial Fatigue and Fracture

Fig.1. Shape and dimensions of the specimen tested (mm).

Fig.2. Proportional and nonproportional strain paths.

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New Hypoeutectic/Hypereutectic Die-Casting Alloys

Table 6.16. Influence of Magnesium Concentration on T5 Mechanical Properties at

Alloy Mg 0.2% YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) Elongation (%) QI (MPa)

6 0.37 229 328 4.3 423

7 0.54 245 342 3.9 431

8 0.66 257 350 3.3 428

Fig. 6.22. Influence of Mg content on T5 mechanical properties at peak hardness

Casting, Semi-Solid Forming and Hot Metal Forming

5.02.3.2.4 Heat Treating

Temper Optimum solution treatment Quench Aging (T6

T5 None Hot or cold water 170–180 °C for

Reproduced from Lumley, R. N. Technical Data Sheets for Heat Treated

Temper 0.2% YS (MPa) UTS (MPa) Elongation (%)

T4 217 387 4.1

T6 320–352 404–441 3.0–3.4

Reproduced from Lumley, R. N. Microstructure-property Relationships in

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Casting, Semi-Solid Forming and Hot Metal Forming

5.09.3.1.2 A319 and A319S Aluminum Alloys

Figure 9. Aluminum–silicon phase diagram of A319S alloy predicted by Thermo-

Figure 10. Semisolid transformation of A319 and A319S alloys obtained by

Table 3. Basic mechanical properties of A319 and A319S aluminum alloys

Property A319 – F A319 – T6 A319S – T6

Yield strength (MPa) 95 152–185 317

Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) 193 234–255 400

Elongation (%) 2 2–6 5

Hardness (BHN) 70–100 75–105 119

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The 10 Rules for Good Castings

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Surface engineered light alloys for sports equipment

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A Small-Strain Viscoplasticity Theory Based on

3 Influence of Equilibrium Stress Growth Laws

FIGURE 8. Same as Figure 7 with the evolution of the state variables.

for the Yao model. For the Lee version we have

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Journal of Materials Processing Technology

Materials & Design

Composites Part B: Engineering

Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors.

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