Institute of Metals Division - Creep of Al-Cu Alloys During Age Hardening

IT has been recognized for many years that dis-persed particles have great value in raising the creep resistance of metallic alloys. In fact, some of the most successful high-temperature alloys owe their superiority to this factor above all others. A recent observation by Glen1," indicates that even better high-temperature resistance to deformation results in alloys capable of two successive precipitation reactions. The ramifications of this finding are of great interest. Unfortunately, our understanding of the reasons for such notable improvements has not kept pace with technical developments. In an effort to uncover some of the basic facts governing strengthening by particles, a program was initiated at the Battelle Memorial Institute with the primary goal of comparing creep strengths in single-phase and two-phase (precipitating) alloys. The effects of precipitation from solid solution on the creep properties of alloys are generally such that the resistance to creep is increased. However, if alloys are heat treated to different degrees of hardness before creep testing, it is often found that those possessing the maximum hardness initially do not necessarily have the maximum creep resistance. Depending on the stresses and temperatures involved other structures may prove more desirable. Considerations of the above nature indicate the importance of defining the initial state of the alloy. Here, it was decided to start with quenched single- phase alloys in which precipitation and creep deformation proceed concurrently. Equipment and Experimental Procedures Preparation of the Specimens—Four 25 lb ingots were prepared from 99.999 pct Cu and 99.996 pct Al to compositions of 1, 2, 3, and 4 wt pct Cu. Spec-trographic and chemical analyses are listed in Table I. After heat treatments and intermediate reductions, the alloys were cold rolled to 1/8 in. thick sheet. The final cold reductions amounted to 50, 40, 20, and 10 pct for the 1, 2, 3, and 4 pct Cu alloys, respectively. The specimens for creep testing were machined into tensile flats 7 in. long, 3/4 in. wide (at the shoulders), and 1/8 in. thick. The reduced sections were 1/4 in. wide and 21/2 in. long. After heat treatments at 540°C to an ASTM grain size of 1 1, the specimens were quenched into water at room temperature, then electropolished in a glacial acetic acid and perchloric acid solution. The gage marks were Knoop impressions placed 2 in. apart on the reduced sections. Blanks of 1 x 1 in, were cut from the same sheets for the age hardening runs and were given the same grain size heat treatments. The specimens and blanks were stored in a refrigerator at —40°C until needed for testing. Creep Measurements—Creep tests were conducted in a constant temperature room which was maintained at 26° ±1°C. A split-type, hinged, vertical-tube furnace was mounted on a horizontal track so that the specimen could be enclosed suddenly. Thus, it took about 15 min for the specimen to come within 5°C of the test temperature. The temperature variation along the specimen was controlled to about