Effects of severe cold rolling on tensile properties and stress corrosion cracking of 7050 aluminum alloy

7050 aluminum alloy samples were subjected to severe cold rolling (CR) deformation after solution treatment, and then were aged at conventional T6-aging temperature. After CR, shear bands appeared in the matrix and became wide with increasing the CR reduction. The strength of the 7050 samples increased with increasing the CR reduction. The yield and ultimate strengths of the CR sample with a reduction of 67% increased by 16.5% and 9.2%, respectively, compared to those of the T6 sample. Both the residual dislocations and heterogeneously nucleated fine eta' phase particles in the matrix increased the strength of the CR samples. Furthermore, the enlargement in the size and particle interval of the grain boundary precipitates improved the stress corrosion crack (SCC) resistance of the CR samples compared to that of the T6 sample. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.