The effects of annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu–Si alloys fabricated by high-energy ball milling (HEBM) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) were investigated. The HEBM-free sintered alloy primarily contained Mg2Si, Q-AlCuMgSi, and Si phases. Meanwhile, the HEBM-sintered alloy contains Mg-free Si and θ-Al2Cu phases due to the formation of MgO, which causes Mg depletion in the Al matrix. Annealing without and with HEBM at 500oC causes partial dissolution and coarsening of the Q-AlCuMgSi and Mg2Si phases in the alloy and dissolution of the θ-Al2Cu phase in the alloy, respectively. In both alloys, a thermally stable α-AlFeSi phase was formed after long-term heat treatment. The grain size of the sintered alloys with and without HEBM increased from 0.5 to 1.0 μm and from 2.9 to 6.3 μm, respectively. The hardness of the sintered alloy increases after annealing for 1 h but decreases significantly after 24 h of annealing. Extending the annealing time to 168 h improved the hardness of the alloy without HEBM but had little effect on the alloy with HEBM. The relationship between the microstructural factors and the hardness of the sintered and annealed alloys is discussed.

In the flux used in the batch galvanizing process, the effect of the component ratio of NH₄Cl to ZnCl₂ on the microstructure, coating adhesion, and corrosion resistance of Zn-Mg-Al ternary alloy-coated steel is evaluated. Many defects such as cracks and bare spots are formed inside the Zn-Mg-Al coating layer during treatment with the flux composition generally used for Zn coating. Deterioration of the coating property is due to the formation of AlClx mixture generated by the reaction of Al element and chloride in the flux. The coatability of the Zn-Mg-Al alloy coating is improved by increasing the content of ZnCl2 in the flux to reduce the amount of chlorine reacting with Al while maintaining the flux effect and the coating adhesion is improved as the component ratio of NH4Cl to ZnCl2 decreases. Zn-Mg-Al alloy-coated steel products treated with the optimized flux composition of NH₄Cl•3ZnCl₂ show superior corrosion resistance compared to Zn-coated steel products, even with a coating weight of 60 %.

Effects of Sc addition on microstructure, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the as-cast and as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-xSc (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5 wt%) alloys are investigated. The average grain size of the as-cast Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg alloy is 2,334 μm; however, this value drops to 914 and 529 μm with addition of Sc element at 0.25 wt% and 0.5 wt%, respectively. This grain refinement is due to primary Al3Sc phase forming during solidification. The as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg alloy has a recrystallization structure consisting of almost equiaxed grains. However, the asextruded Sc-containing alloys consist of grains that are extremely elongated in the extrusion direction. In addition, it is found that the proportion of low-angle grain boundaries below 15 degree is dominant. This is because the addition of Sc results in the formation of coherent and nano-scale Al3Sc phases during hot extrusion, inhibiting the process of recrystallization and improving the strength by pinning of dislocations and the formation of subgrain boundaries. The maximum values of the yield and tensile strength are 126 MPa and 215 MPa for the as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-0.25Sc alloy, respectively. The increase in strength is probably due to the existence of nano-scale Al3Sc precipitates and dense Al2Cu phases. Thermal conductivity of the as-cast Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-xSc alloy is reduced to 204, 187 and 183 W/MK by additions of elemental Sc of 0, 0.25 and 0.5 wt%, respectively. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-xSc alloy is about 200 W/Mk regardless of the content of Sc. This is because of the formation of coherent Al3Sc phase, which decreases Sc content and causes extremely high electrical resistivity.

The annealing characteristics of cold-rolled Al-6.5Mg-1.5Zn-0.5Fe-0.5Mn alloy, newly designed as an automobile material, are investigated in detail, and compared with those of other aluminum alloys. Using multi-pass rolling at room temperature, the ingot aluminum alloy is cut to a thickness of 4 mm, width of 30 mm, and length of 100 mm to reduce the thickness to 1 mm (r = 75 %). Annealing after rolling is performed at various temperatures ranging from 200 to 500 oC for 1 hour. The specimens annealed at temperatures up to 300 oC show a deformation structure; however, from 350 oC they have a recrystallization structure consisting of almost equiaxed grains. The hardness distribution in the thickness direction of the annealed specimens is homogeneous at all annealing temperatures, and their average hardness decreases with increasing annealing temperature. The tensile strength of the as-rolled specimen shows a high value of 496 MPa; however, this value decreases with increasing annealing temperature and becomes 338MPa after annealing at 400 oC. These mechanical properties of the specimens are compared with those of other aluminum alloys, including commercial 5xxx system alloys.

In this study, the effect of pre-aging treatment for inhibition of natural aging of Al-4.8Zn-1.3Mg alloy by extrusion process was investigated. Firstly, the as-cast microstructure of Al-4.8Zn-1.3Mg alloy billet and its evolution during homogenization(460℃, 4h + 510℃, 5h) were investigated by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), hardness analysis. The as-cast microstructures of Al-4.8Zn-1.3Mg alloy reveal Mg2Zn, Al5Cu, Al3Cu formed between dendrities. After homogenization, MgZn, Al4Cu, Al13Cu phases precipitated into the matrix. In addition, standard deviation of homogenized billet was improved than as-cast billet from 2.62 to 0.99. According to pre-aging(100℃, 1h) Al-4.8Zn-1.3Mg alloy by extrusion process, yield strength and tensile strength deviation improved more than condition by natural aging.

The annealing characteristics of a cold rolled Al-6.5Mg-1.5Zn alloy newly designed as an automobile material is investigated in detail. The aluminum alloy in the ingot state is cut to a thickness of 4 mm, a total width of 30 mm and a length of 100 mm and then reduced to a thickness of 1 mm (reduction of 75%) by multi-pass rolling at room temperature. Annealing after rolling is performed at temperatures ranging from 200 to 400 ℃ for 1 hour. The tensile strength of the annealed material tends to decrease with the annealing temperature and shows a maximum tensile strength of 482MPa in the material annealed at 200 ℃. The tensile elongation of the annealed material increases with the annealing temperature, while the tensile strength does not, and reaches a maximum value of 26 % at the 350 ℃ annealed material. For the microstructure, recovery and recrystallization actively occur as the annealing temperature increases. The recrystallization begins to occur at 300 ℃ and is completed at 350 ℃, which results in the formation of a fine grained structure. After the rolling, the rolling texture of {112}<111>(Cu-Orientation) develops, but after the annealing a specific texture does not develop.

The cold rolling workability and mechanical properties of two new alloys, designed and cast Al-5.5Mg-2.9Si and Al-7Mg-0.9Zn alloys, were investigated in detail. The two alloy sheets of 4 mm thickness, 30 mm width and 100 mm length were reduced to a thickness of 1 mm by multi-pass rolling at ambient temperature. The rolling workability was better for the Al-7Mg-0.9Zn alloy than for the Al-5.5Mg-2.9Si alloy; in case of the former alloy, edge cracks began to occur at 50% rolling reduction, and their number and length increased with rolling reduction; however, in the latter alloy, the sheets did not have any cracks even at higher rolling reduction. The mechanical properties of tensile strength and elongation were also better in the Al-7Mg-0.9Zn alloy than in Al-5.5Mg-2.9Si alloy. Work hardening ability after cold rolling was also higher in the Al-7Mg- 0.9Zn alloy than in the Al-5.5Mg-2.9Si alloy. At the same time, the texture development was very similar for both alloys; typical rolling texture developed in both alloys. These differences in the two alloys can primarily be explained by the existence of precipitates of Mg2Si. It is concluded that the Al-7Mg-0.9Zn alloy is better than the Al-5.5Mg-2.9Si alloy in terms of mechanical properties.

Al-Si-SiC composite powders with intra-granular SiC particles were prepared by a gas atomization process. The composite powders were mixed with Al-Zn-Mg alloy powders as a function of weight percent. Those mixture powders were compacted with the pressure of 700 MPa and then sintered at the temperature of 565-585˚C. T6 heat treatment was conducted to increase their mechanical properties by solid-solution precipitates. Each relative density according to the optimized sintering temperature of those powders were determined as 96% at 580˚C for Al-Zn-Mg powders (composition A), 97.9% at 575˚C for Al-Zn-Mg powders with 5 wt.% of Al-Si-SiC powders (composition B), and 98.2% at 570˚C for Al-Zn-Mg powders with 10 wt.% of Al-Si-SiC powders (composition C), respectively. Each hardness, tensile strength, and wear resistance test of those sintered samples was conducted. As the content of Al-Si-SiC powders increased, both hardness and tensile strength were decreased. However, wear resistance was increased by the increase of Al-Si-SiC powders. From these results, it was confirmed that Al-Si-SiC/Al-Zn-Mg composite could be highly densified by the sintering process, and thus the composite could have high wear resistance and tensile strength when the content of Al-Si-SiC composite powders were optimized.

The effect of Al addition on the precipitation behavior of a binary Mg-Zn alloy was investigated based on thechanges in the morphology, distribution and element concentration of precipitates formed during aging treatment. The as-castMg-6.0 mass%Zn (Mg-6Zn) and Mg-6.0 mass%Zn-3.0 mass%Al (Al-added) were homogenized at 613K for 48h and at 673Kfor 12h; they were then solid solution treated at 673K for 0.5 h and 1 h, respectively. The Mg-6Zn and Al-added alloys wereaged at 403 K and 433K. The peak hardness of the Al-added alloy was higher than that of the Mg-6Zn alloy at each agingtemperature. Rod-like, plate-like, blocky, and lath-like precipitates were observed in the Al-added alloy aged at 433K for230.4ks, although the rod-like and plate-like precipitates were observed in the TEM microstructure of the Mg-6Zn alloy agedat 433K for 360 ks. Moreover, the precipitates in the Al-added alloy were refined and densely distributed compared with thosein the Mg-6Zn alloy. The Cliff-Lorimer plots obtained by the EDS analysis of the rod-like and plate-like phases in theAl-added alloy peak aged at 433K for 230.4ks were examined. It was confirmed that the phases had higher concentrationof solute Al atom than was present in the phases, indicating that the properties of precipitates can be changed by Al addition.

Creep tests were conducted under a condition of constant stress on two aluminum-based alloys containing particles: Al-5% Mg-0.25% Fe and Al-5% Zn-0.22% Fe. The role of grain boundary sliding was examined in the plane of the surface using a square grid printed on the surface by carbon deposition and perpendicular to the surface using two-beam interferometry. Estimates of the contribution of grain boundary sliding to the total strain, εgbs/εt reveal two trends; (i) the sliding contribution is consistently higher in the Al-Mg-Fe alloy, and (ii) the sliding contribution is essentially independent of strain in the Al-Mg-Fe alloy, but it shows a significant decrease with increasing strain in the Al-Zn-Fe alloy. Sliding is inhibited by the presence of particles and its contributions to the total strain are low. This inhibition is attributed to the interaction between the grain boundary dislocations responsible for sliding and particles in the boundaries.

The aging characteristics of gas atomized Mg-6 wt.% Al-1 wt.% Zn alloy were investigated and compared to those of cast Mg-6 wt.% Al alloy. The gas atomized Mg-6 wt.% Al-1wt.% Zn alloy powders had spherical morphology between 1 and 100 in diameter. After compaction under the pressure of 700 MPa at for 10 min, the Mg-6 wt.% Al-1 wt.% Zn alloy showed a grain size of approximately 40 which is smaller than that of the cast Mg-6 wt.% Al alloy, and a relative compact density of approximately 93%. After ageing, the Mg-6 wt.% Al-1 wt.% Zn alloy showed much faster peak hardness than cast Mg-6 wt.% Al alloy. The Mg-6 wt.% Al-1 wt.% Zn alloy showed the new fine precipitations with ageing time, while the cast Mg-6 wt.% Al alloy was almost similar morphology.

In order to investigate the effect of rapid solidification on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg system alloys, water atomization was carried out, since the water atomization beared the highest solidification rate among the atomization processes. The as atomized alloy powders consisted of fine grains less than 4 in diameter, and the second particles were not detected on XRD. The microstructure as solidified was maintained even after the spark plasma sintering at the heating rate of 50 K/min. On the other hand, lower rate of 20 K/min induced a formation of particles, resulting in strengthening of the matrix. The density was almost constant at the temperature above 698K. The sintering temperature above 698K had no effect on the strength of the sintered materials.

In the present work, the sintering behavior of high strength Al-5.6Zn-2.5Mg-1.6Cu (in wt.%) alloy compacts prepared from elemental powders was investigated. Microstructural evaluation was accompanied by XRD and DSC methods in order to determine the temperature and chemical composition of the liquid phases formed during sintering. It was found that three transient liquid phases are formed at 420, 439 and 450 . Microstructural study revealed the progressive formation of sintered contacts due to the presence of the liquid phases, although the green compact expands as a result of the melt penetration along the grain boundaries. While Zn melts at , the intermetallic phases formed between Al and Mg were found to be responsible for the formation of liquid phase and the dimensional change at higher temperatures.

Melt-overflow 급냉응고장치를 이용하여 두께 약 300μm, 폭 10mm의 Mg-Zn합급 스트립을 연속적으로 제조하였다. 또한 알루미늄을 첨가하여, 첨가원소에 따른 결정립미세화와 기계적강도에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 스트립의 미세응고조직은 전자현미경(TEM, SEM)과 image analyzer를 이용하여 분석하였으며, 경도시험으로 기계적특성을 평가하였다. Mg-5wt%Zn합금 스트립의 경도는 결정립크기의 제곱근에 반비례하여 급냉응고에 의한 결정립미세화 효과로 같은 조성의 일반주조 합금보다 2배 이상의 높은 경도값을 가지며, 알루미늄을 첨가함으로서 2배 정도의 결정립미세화 효과를 얻어 경도가 더욱 증가하였다. 결정입계를 따라 생성된 금속간화합물은 마그네슘화합금의 입계부식을 방지하여 우수한 내식성을 갖는다. 따라서 적절한 합금설계와 급냉응고법을 적용시키면 마그네슘합금의 취약성을 보완하며 경량성의 장점을 최대한 활용할 수 있다.

용탕단조법에 의해 제조된 Mg-9AI-2Zn 합금을 미세조직관찰, 미소경도측정, 인장시험 등을 행하여 시효거동과 기계적 성질을 조사하였다. 용탕에 가압을 한 결과 주조결함이 제거된 미세한 주조조직을 얻었으며 미세조직은 초정 α(Mg 고용체), 과포화고용체 α상 및 β(Mg17AI12)화합물의 3가지 상으로 구성되어 있었다. 160˚C및 200˚C에서 시효열처리한 결과 β석출물에 의한 피크 경도값이 나타났으며 피크경도에서의 석출물의 형태는 lamella 형태의 불연속 석출물이 대부분이었고 과시효에 따라 불연속석출물의 조대화와 함께 연속석출물의 분율이 증가하였다. 용탕단조방법에 의해 제조된 Mg-9AI-2Zn 합금의 인장특성은 인장강도 261.4MPa, 연산율 7.6%로서 상용 AZ 92 합금보다 인장강도 및 연신율에서 우수한 기계적 성질을 가졌는데 이는 Zn의 고용강화 및 용탕의 가압에 의한 효과였다.다.

In this study the changes of the hardness and microstructures during aging at 120 of an RS-P/M Al-5.6wt%Zn-2.0wt%Mg-1.3wt%Zr-1.0wt%Mn-0.25wt%Cu alloy were studied using a transmission electron microscopy. The hardness increased rapidly at early stage of aging and reached the maximun when the specimen was aged for 24 hr. The many irregular-shaped and rod-shaped dispersoids with 0.1-0.4 m in length were observed in the as-extruded alloy. The dark particles with 2-3 nm in size were observed in aged specimen for 5hr and those are thought to be G.P.zones or precursor of precipitates. In aged specimen for 24 hr, the phases were distributed homogeneously within the matrix and the PFZ with 30-40 nm in width was observed along the grain boundary. With further aging, the width of PFZ increased and phases were also detected within the matrix.

급냉응고법을 이용하여 고용한도 이상으로 Mn량을 첨가할 때 Mn량에 따른 인장특성의 변화와 시효특성을 조사하였다. 원심분무법으로 AI-4.7%Zn-2.5%Mg-0.2%Zr합금에 Mn량을 각기 달리 첨가한 급냉응고 분말을 제조 하였다. 이 분말을 냉간압축, 진공 탈가스처리를 한 후 15:1로 압출하여 봉상 시편을 만들었다. 분말의 미세조직은 α-AI수지상과 수지상간 편석부로 이루어져 있으며 Mn첨가에 따라 조직의 변화는 관찰되지 않았다. 빠른 냉각속도로 인하여 2.0%Mn을 첨가한 경우에도 초정 Mn상을 발견할 수 없었다. 압출재의 미세조직은 아결정립으로 이루어져 있으며 약간의 제2상들이 관찰되었다. 대부분의 Mn 분산상은 압출후 용체화처리 과정에서 형성되었으며 시효경화량은 Mn양에 관계없이 일정하였다. 460˚C에서 1시간 용체화처리하고 120˚C에서 24시간 시효처리한 경우 최대의 시효경도값을 나타내었다. 인장강도는 Mn첨가량에 따라 증가 하였는데 이것은 Mn분산상의 밀도증가에 의한 것으로 확인되었다. 2.0%Mn을 첨가한 합금의 시효후 인장강도는 590MPa, 연산율은 4%를 보였다.