Heat Treatment Process Modeling Development for Age-Hardenable Alloys

Date Published:

February 15, 2024

Abstract:

Age-hardenable alloys, such as some aluminum alloys, maraging steel, and nickel-based alloys, get their strength not from quenching but from the precipitation that occurs during the aging or tempering process. While the types of precipitates are different for each alloy, the mechanism is similar. During aging, alloys come out of the base matrix of the material and combine to form nano-scale precipitates; these precipitates strengthen the material by blocking the path of any dislocations that may form and travel through the grain. The general heat treatment of these materials includes a solution treatment to dissolve any precipitates that have been formed, quenching to maintain the solid-solution matrix, and an aging or tempering step to allow the precipitates to nucleate and grow. Higher temperatures aid in precipitation, but temperatures too high will coarsen the precipitates, reducing their strengthening effect. Modeling this phenomenon can be challenging due to the precipitates having different rates of formation and coarsening at different aging temperatures; the large range of temperature the material undergoes during heat treatment; and the effect these precipitates have on the mechanical properties of the material such as ductility, yield strength, and hardness. An analytical model is needed to predict the microstructural evolution during the solution treatment, quenching, aging, with respect to precipitate formation, growth, and coarsening.

Author:

Jason Meyer

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