Rigas N, Zieroth H, Karpstein N, Spiecker E, Merklein M (2025)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2025
Book Volume: 346
Pages Range: 119107
Article Number: 119107
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2025.119107
High-strength aluminum alloys, such as AA7075, offer exceptional lightweighting potential due to their high specific strength. However, their limited formability at room temperature necessitates thermally assisted forming strategies to ensure failure-free shaping. As performance demands increase, components must exhibit tailored mechanical properties. Tailored Quench Forming (TQF) presents a promising route by integrating forming, quenching, and local property adjustment into a single process step. Yet, the identification of suitable process parameters remains experimentally intensive and lacks clarity in the microstructure behavior during forming. This study introduces a nondestructive, contact free in-situ characterization method for the precipitation-hardenable alloy AA7075, enabling real time monitoring of precipitation behavior during variable cooling and subsequent artificial aging. A high-resolution laser ultrasound system is used to track the influence of local cooling rates on precipitation evolution, which is then correlated with post-process hardness and nanometer-scale Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) analysis. The approach defines critical process windows and precipitation regimes. These parameters are transferred to a forming process, producing components with local tailored properties. Deep drawing and microstructural analysis confirm the formation of property gradients, ranging from high strength to increased ductility, driven by controlled precipitation morphologies. Beyond AA7075, this work establishes a transferable approach for microstructure and property design in precipitation-hardenable alloys via thermal process control during forming. The findings contribute to a fundamental understanding of precipitation kinetics under thermomechanical conditions and support the development of adaptive forming strategies for functionally graded aluminum components.
APA:
Rigas, N., Zieroth, H., Karpstein, N., Spiecker, E., & Merklein, M. (2025). Ultrasound-assisted in-situ characterization of precipitation kinetics for tailoring mechanical properties in high-strength aluminum components. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 346, 119107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2025.119107
MLA:
Rigas, Nikolaos, et al. "Ultrasound-assisted in-situ characterization of precipitation kinetics for tailoring mechanical properties in high-strength aluminum components." Journal of Materials Processing Technology 346 (2025): 119107.
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