Institute of Metals Division - Flow and Fracture Characteristics of the Aluminum Alloy 24S-T4 as Affected by Strain Thermal History

IT has been shown in a number of recent publications that much information on the mechanical behavior of metals can be gleaned by first deforming test specimens under one set of conditions, and then evaluating the effect of this deformation by means of a subsequent tensile test. A straining procedure of this type has been applied to study the flow behaviors of a number of metals.1, 2 In these studies the prestraining and testing were both tensile strains, while the straining temperature was varied between the prestraining and testing steps. These data indicate that there is a more or less general flow behavior exhibited by all metals which are pre-stretched at one temperature and then tested in tension at a second temperature. Prestraining a metal at a high temperature produces a lower yield strength during the subsequent low temperature strain than would the same total strain at the lower temperature. On reversing the order of the strains, low temperature prestraining produces a higher yield strength during the subsequent high temperature straining than would a single high temperature strain of the same magnitude. Unlike the flow behaviors, the fracturing characteristics of metals when prestrained under one set of conditions and tested under a second set of conditions is quite material dependent. The fracture behavior of a number of steels2" as well as of a commercially pure zinc,4 have been investigated by these two-step tests and was found to depend upon the position of the transition temperature with respect to the prestraining and testing conditions. Since these fracturing phenomena are complicated by the appearance of the transition temperature, it has been difficult to reliably define the basic effect of a two-step straining procedure in fracturing. Metals crystallizing in the face-centered cubic system do not exhibit transition temperature effects so that the mechanical characteristics obtained on these materials could serve as a base for two-step straining behaviors. Consequently groups of specimens of the aluminum alloy 24s-T4 were prestrained various amounts at room temperature in either tension or compression after which these strained specimens were further strained to failure, or tested in tension, at either room or some lower temperature. Other groups of 24S-T4 specimens were prestretched at various low temperatures after which these were tested in tension at room temperature. These straining techniques then made it possible to compare the behaviors of aluminum with the behaviors previously presented for steels. Material and Procedure The commercial aluminum alloy 24S-T4 in the form of 3/4 in. rods was used in this investigation. The material was subjected to the following treatments before machining: 1—resolution treating at 920" & 10°F for 45 min, 2—quenching in water at room temperature, and 3—aging at room temperature for four days. The re-heat treated material was then machined to either of the specimen shapes shown in Fig. 1. Fig. la shows the threaded-end specimen used for prestraining in compression. Fig. 1b shows the specimen used for both prestrain in tension and final testing. The material subjected to precompression in the form of the specimen shown in Fig. la was re-machined to the specimen shape in Fig. 1b for final testing. Prestraining in tension and final testing were done without any intermediate machining. All straining was performed on a 10,000 1b Riehle tensile testing machine. Tensile strains were conducted in a specially designed concentric fixture which produced an eccentricity of less than 0.001 in." The change in diameter at the minimum section of