Effect of Cold-Drawing Deformation on the Microstructure and Properties of AA2024-T8.

T8 treatment includes solution treatment, cold working and artificial aging treatment. T8 treatment can greatly improve the hardness and strength of 2024 aluminum alloy without reducing the corrosion resistance. The effect of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4% cold-drawing deformation on the microstructures of the alloy was observed by transmission electron microscopy, and properties of the alloy was investigated by hardness tests, tensile tests and electrochemical corrosion tests. The results show that the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of cold-drawing deformed 2024 aluminum alloy are better than those of non-deformed alloy. Compared with AA2024-T6, AA2024-T8 with 2% cold-drawing deformation has a higher hardness by 11.3%, and a higher tensile strength by 10.8%. The improvement of the properties of AA2024-T8 is mainly due to the interaction between dislocations and precipitates. With the increase in cold-drawing deformation, the nucleation points of precipitates in AA2024-T8 gradually increase, and precipitates are gradually coarsened under the same artificial aging treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]