Effect of a high temperature and hydrostatic pressure on the structure and the properties of a high-strength cast AM5 (the 201.2 alloy type) aluminum alloy

Abstract

The phase-transition temperatures of a high-strength cast AM5 aluminum alloy are determined at atmospheric pressure and an excess pressure of 100 MPa using differential barothermic analysis (DBA) and classical differential thermal analysis (DTA). An excess pressure of 100 MPa is shown to increase the critical temperatures of the alloy by 12–17°C (including an increase in the solidus temperature by 12°C), which makes it possible to increase the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) temperature above the temperature of heating for quenching. The following three barothermal treatment schedules at p = 100 MPa and τ = 3 h, which have different isothermal holding temperatures, are chosen to study the influence of HIP on the structure and the properties of alloy AM5 castings: HIP1 (t₁ = 505 ± 2°C), HIP2 (t₂ = 520 ± 2°C), and HIP3 (t₃ = 540 ± 2°C). High-temperature HIP treatment is found to increase the casting density and improve the morphology of secondary phases additionally, which ensures an increase in the plasticity of the alloy. In particular, the plasticity of the alloy after heat treatment according to schedule HIP3 + T6 (T6 means artificial aging to achieve the maximum strength) increases by a factor of ∼1.5.