Improving the properties of cold-rolled Al-6%Ni sheets by alloying and heat treatment

The mechanical properties of a cold-rolled binary eutectic Al-Ni alloy can be considerably improved by additional alloying with Zr and heat treatment of a billet. Two-stage annealing of billets results in the favourable morphology changes in the eutectics structure and in the substantial hardening with participation of Al3Zr dispersoids. The cold-rolled material starts to soften only at temperatures as high as 350 degreesC. The main reason of softening at higher temperatures is the beginning of recrystallization with the formation of subgrains and grains of submicron size. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.