Effect of Retrogression and Reaging Treatments

on the Microstructure of AI-7075-T651

J.K. PARK and A.J. ARDELL

The effect of the retrogression and reaging treatments (RRA) on the microstructure of AI-7075 in the
T651 temper, both in the matrix and on grain boundaries, was studied using transmission electron
microscopy. The processes occurring in the matrix during the retrogression treatment are principally
the dissolution of small particles of the ~?' transition phase, transformation to 77of the larger particles
of r/', coarsening of the three commonly observed variants of the 77phase precipitates 031, ~72,and rh),
and precipitation of new rt phase particles, particularly the rh variant. The main process occurring
during the reaging treatment is either growth of partially dissolved r/' particles or precipitation of the
rt' phase. These lead to a microstructure containing many fine "q' precipitates and some larger ~71and
~?zpanicles with a smaller amount of coarse 94 particles, resulting in a broad particle size distribution.
The high strength of the 7075 alloy in the RRA temper is believed to arise from the relatively high
overall concentration of particles in this dispersion. The retrogression treatment produces rapid initial
coarsening of the grain boundary particles, which are primarily 77 phase precipitates, resulting in an
increase in their volume per unit grain boundary area, Va. The beneficial effect of the RRA treatment
on the susceptibility of 7075-T651 to SCC is believed to be due, at least partially, to the increased value
of VA produced by the RRA treatment.

I. INTRODUCTION 7075-T6 in a temperature range within the two-phase

(a + r/) region of the phase diagram, followed by water
HIGHstrength A1-Zn-Mg alloys are susceptible to inter- quenching and a final reaging treatment equivalent to the
granular stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Numerous studies
original T6 temper.
have been performed to understand the mechanism of SCC
The original work on RRA 2~ has been confirmed sub-
for the purpose of enhancing the resistance of these alloys to
sequently by Wallace et al. ,22 who further demonstrated that
it without deteriorating their high strength. The degree of
the RRA heat treatment can be applied to 7075-T6 material
susceptibility to SCC is known to depend upon the aging
in thicknesses approaching those of commercial compo-
conditions. Most of the studies to date have been directed
nents. The potential payoff of RRA is that the resistance to
toward the role of grain boundary precipitates,~-13 precipitate
SCC of components fabricated from this alloy and currently
free zones (PFZ), ~1-16and matrix precipitates ~6'17on the sus-
in service can be improved at minimal cost, thereby con-
ceptibility to SCC. Despite the extent of this research, there
serving both materials and energy.
remains considerable controversy over the influence and
The results of a recent study by Swanson et al. 23 indicate
relative importance of the various microstructural features.
that the RRA treatment may be effective in inhibiting crack
Recent studies 7-~3 have focused on the role of grain bound-
initiation under stress corrosion conditions, but probably has
ary precipitates, using as a basis the earlier original findings
no influence on crack propagation. This follows from their
of Dix and his co-workers t~2'3 that such precipitates could
observation that the SCC resistance of notched 7075 tensile
be subject to preferential anodic dissolution due to their
specimens was not improved by the RRA heat treatment
anodic electrochemical nature compared with that of the
and, therefore, that crack propagation during SCC was un-
solid solution.
affected by RRA. The results of Swanson et al. 23 are, how-
The overaging heat treatment T7X has been traditionally
ever, at variance with those of Wallace et al. ,22 who used
applied to reduce the susceptibility of commercial A1-7075-
T651 to SCC. 18.~9This heat treatment, however, necessarily precracked double-cantilever beam specimens to measure
leads to a sacrifice of the maximum strength of this alloy. In crack growth rates under SCC conditions, and observed
significant improvement in tlae RRA treated specimens. The
recent years a new heat treatment technique that substan-
reasons for this discrepancy are unknown and are not ad-
tially increases the resistance of 7075-T6 to SCC without
dressed in this paper.
significant loss of the 7075-T6 strength has been devel-
oped. 2~ This so-called Retrogression and Reaging (RRA) Since the importance of the RRA treatment has been
recognized only recently, little is known of the mecha-
treatment produces a several-fold increase in the threshold
stress for SCC over that of 7075-T6. The RRA treatment nism(s) responsible for its beneficial effect on both the
strength and SCC resistance of the 7075 alloy. Micro-
consists of a short time retrogression anneal applied to
structural studies of 7075 subjected to RRA heat treatments
J.K. PARK, formerly Visiting Assistant Research Engineer in the De- have been rather limited in both number and scope. Rajan
partment of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, et al. 24 have shown that the size of grain boundary precipi-
Los Angeles, CA, is now Assistant Professor, Department of Materials tates increases during the retrogression step, lying between
Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology, Seoul, Korea. A.J. ARDELL is Chairman and Professor,
the sizes characteristic of the T6 and T73 tempers. They
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 6531 Boelter Hall, reported only that the matrix of their alloy contains coherent
University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024. precipitates in the RRA condition. Danh et al. zs have
Manuscript submitted September 19, 1983. reported that retrogression results initially in the dissolution

METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984-- 1531

or reversion of G.P. zones, followed by an increase in the
volume fraction of r/' and r/precipitates, and subsequent
coarsening of these precipitates. They concluded that the
main reactions on reaging are the nucleation and growth of
"0' particles.
The conclusion of Danh et al. 25 that G.P. zone dissolution
is responsible for the drop in yield strength or hardness that
accompanies the initial stages of retrogression 2~ was not
based on their own direct observations of the microstructure.
Instead, they relied upon the work of others ~3'26 who had
concluded that G.P. zones were the predominant precipitates
in the T651 microstructure. In a recently completed study, 27
we have demonstrated that a fine dispersion of r/' precipi-
tates dominates the T651 microstructure. Hence, G.P. zone
dissolution cannot be the process responsible for the de-
creasing yield strength of 7075 during the early stages of the
retrogression heat treatment.
In this paper we report theresults of our investigation of
the effects of the RRA heat treatment on the microstructure
of 7075-T651, using as a foundation the results of our
recently published research. 27 Comparisons between our
results and those of Rajan et al. 24 and Danh et al. 25 are
presented later.
II. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
As in the previous research, 27 the material used in this
study was extruded commercial A1 alloy 7075 in the T651
condition, obtained from Lockheed in the form of bar
30 x 100 • 1100 mm. Samples in the L-ST orientation
were cut in the form of thin strips 0.25 mm in thickness
using an electric spark discharge cutting machine. Samples
in the L-T orientation were similarly prepared in order to
study the orientation dependence of the microstructure.
For the T7 temper, the same heat treatment as in the
previous study 27 was applied. The retrogression heat treat-
ment on the strips was performed in a salt bath at 240 -+
2 ~ which has been reported as an optimum retrogression
temperature. 2~The strips were retrogressed for various times
up to 60 seconds and water quenched to room temperature.
Reaging at 120 -+ 1 ~ in a stirred oil bath for 48 hours was
done immediately after the retrogression treatment.
Thin foils for transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
were prepared using the same method as in the previous
study. 27 TEM was performed at 100 kV using a JEOL 100
CX TEMSCAN equipped with a side entry goniometric
double tilting stage.
To determine the viable range of retrogression times at
240 ~ for the alloy used in this study, microhardness was
measured as a function of retrogression time before and after
the reaging treatment. Five disks 3 mm in diameter were
punched from each strip specimen. After having polished
them mechanically to remove the damage due to spark ma-
chining, the disks were further polished electrolytically to
produce a final smooth surface. The final thickness of the
disks was in the range 0.10 to 0.17 mm, whereupon the
Knoop hardness under a 100 gm load was measured. For
the hardness measurements of the retrogressed strips, par-
ticular precaution was taken to minimize possible room
temperature aging. All the samples were kept at 0 ~
except during mechanical polishing and the performance of
the hardness measurement themselves, the total estimated
time of which was about 30 minutes.
1532--VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984
The results of the Knoop hardness measurement are
shown in Figure 1 as a function of immersion time at the
retrogression temperature (240 ~ before and after reaging
at 120 ~ Each point represents the mean value of mea-
surements on five disks. The fractional standard deviation of
the hardness values was about 11 pct for the RRA curve and
about 13 pct for the retrogression curve. It is believed that
the scatter observed is primarily due to the strong directional
grain orientation in L-ST sections along the extrusion direc-
tion and local fluctuations of the smoothness of the surfaces
of the specimens.
The retrogression curve shows that the hardness initially
decreases with immersion time, reaches a minimum at about
25 seconds, and then increases slightly up to about 40 sec-
onds before decreasing again. The hardness curve for speci-
mens subjected to the RRA treatment indicates that within
about 30 seconds the retrogressed specimens recover more
than 95 pet of their original T651 hardness after reaging.
After that, the hardness decreases with immersion time.
The curves in Figure 1 therefore exhibit the same type of
behavior as those determined by Cina and Ranish 2~ and
Wallace et al. 22
Measurement of the temperature of a stainless steel strip
of thickness similar to that of the 7075 strips showed that
about 10 to 15 seconds were required for the strip to reach
240 ~ in the salt bath. Since the thermal conductivity
of 7075 is approximately nine times greater than that of
stainless steel, the 7075 alloy will reach the retrogression
temperature considerably faster than 10 to 15 seconds.
III. RESULTS
A typical example of a bright-field image of the RRA
structure is shown in Figure 2(a). The RRA structure seen
here is that of a sample retrogressed for 30 seconds of
immersion time (RRA 30). Figure 2(b) shows a bright-field
image of the microstructure of a sample retrogressed for 30
seconds without the subsequent reaging treatment (R 30).
190
" ~ - -0' -0 % ~ o
\ RRA
170 \
0~
~RETROGRESSION
O
O \ 0%% 0%
150 - e\ ..e
Z
-1-
~,.o.o ~' 9 9
\
\
130
110 I I I I I I
20 40 60
I M M E R S I O N TIME (s)
Fig. 1 1 V a r i a t i o n of microhardness of retrogressed and reaged, and retro-
gressed 7075-T651 as a function of immersion time at the retrogression
temperature, 240 ~
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A

(a)
~ _ 0.1 iJ m....A
(b)
Fig. 2--Bright-field micrographs of AI-7075 in the (a) RRA 30 and
(b) R 30 conditions. A line-of-no-contrast perpendicular to the diffraction
vector ~ = [1]1] is visible at the particles indicated by arrows in (a).
The particles are generally plate shaped, although there ap-
pear to be some small spherically shaped particles present
as well. The particle sizes in the RRA 30 structure are
relatively coarse, but their concentration is large. Some of
the particles exhibit a line-of-no-contrast, perpendicular to
the direction of the diffraction vector ~ = (111), similar to
that seen in samples in the T651 temper, 2v suggesting that
they are associated with coherency strains on {111}. The
R 30 structure contains a significantly lower particle con-
centration than the RRA 30 microstructure, although the
particle sizes are similar to those in the RRA 30 structure.
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
A. Microstructure of Matrix Precipitates
The same technique as in the previous study 27 was used
for the identification of the precipitates. The analysis of
various diffraction patterns from samples in the RRA temper
reveals that the basic patterns are the same as those from
samples in the T651 and T7 tempers 27 and that the principal
differences consist of variations of the relative intensities of
the reflections associated with each precipitate. As is the
case in the T651 structure, the diffraction patterns from the
RRA structure show streaks parallel to (1T1) centered on
intensity maxima from the "0' phase. However, the length of
the streaks is shorter in the RRA structure and their inten-
sity maxima appear more as discrete r/' spots (Figure 3(a)).
The indexing of these spots is consistent with a hexag-
onal unit cell with a = 0.496 nm, c = 1.403 nm, and
(a)
(b)
Fig. 3 - - Electron diffraction patterns from a sample of AI-7075 in (a) the
RRA 30 and (b) the R 30 conditions for the zone axes B = [112]. Streaks
parallel to [1i-1] are visible in (a), but they are discontinuous, with many
intensity maxima at integral multiples of V6 [1T1]; clusters of reflections
near 2/3 [220] are also evident in this diffraction pattern. Quasi-continuous
streaks parallel to [1i1] appear in (b), in which the (00.2), 2 reflection near
89 ( l l l ) is fairly prominent.
VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984-- 1533
having an orientation relationship with the matrix given by
(10.0)n,[I (ll0)~a; (O0.1)n,II (1T1)AI, identical to the results of
the previous s t u d y . 27
Many of the reflections from the 7/ variants generally
become more intense as a result of the RRA treatment. This
is particularly true of the (00.2)%reflection near IA (1T1),
the (24.0)n, reflection near (222), and all spots near
(220), in particular (20.2)~4, (00.4)~, + (00.4)n4, (T2.0),~,
and (20.0),2, resulting in the appearance of multiple spots
near % (220). This suggests that the RRA treatment pro-
duces an increase in the concentrations of the 7/particles,
particularly the ]72 and r/4 types, although a large concen-
tration of ~/' particles is preserved. The diffraction patterns
from samples in the R 30 condition generally show reflec-
tions originating from the T/,, r/2, and ~74 types, similar to
those from samples in the RRA 30 temper (Figure 3(b)).
However, streaks rather than discrete spots due to the 7/' (a)
phase reappear parallel to (lll).
Studies of dark-field images confirmed the information
obtained from the analysis of the diffraction patterns. Fig-
ure 4 shows typical examples of dark-field images taken
from samples in the RRA 30 and R 30 tempers. The fine
particles on {ll 1} seen in Figure 4(a), which was taken using
the (00.4)r reflection (this is nearly superimposed on the
doubly-diffracted (24.0),, reflection) are mostly r/' precipi-
tates. The few relatively coarse particles visible are the 774
type. Relatively coarse T/2 and r/i particles are shown in
Figure 4(b), which was taken using the (20. l)_~Lreflection
(which includes the (20.2),, + (1].6),, and (22.2),~ reflec-
tions). The fine particles seen faintly in the background are
mostly r/'. Figure 4(c), which was taken using the (_20.1),~
reflection (including (20.2)n, + (1]'.6)n, and (22.2),),
shows mostly relatively coarse T~2and vh particles, with fine
background precipitates which are primarily 77'.
The microstructures of samples subjected to the RRA (b)
treatment using different retrogression times, i.e., l0 sec-
onds (RRA 10) and 60 seconds (RRA 60), were also studied.
Typical examples of dark-field images of these structures
are shown in Figure 5. The fine particles seen in Figure 5(a),
which was taken using the (20.0),, reflection (including
(00.4)nl + (00.4)n4 and (20.0n2) are mostly r/'. Relatively
coarse particles of rh and r/2 are seen in Figure 5(b), which
was taken using the (T2.0)n~ and (20.0)n2 reflections.
The particle sizes were measured from dark-field images
such as those in Figures 4 and 5. The results are presented
in Table I and Figure 6. For each type of precipitate the sizes
of more than 100 particles were generally measured from at
least four different dark-field images. The longest diameter
was used as a measure of the size of the plate-shaped par-
ticles. For the overall particle size distributions at least 300
particle sizes were measured from more than three different
dark-field images. Table I and Figure 6 show that compared
to the T651 microstructure, significant increases occur not
only in the numbers of the r/precipitate types, particularly
r/2 and 7/4, but also in their sizes (particularly rh and r/4) as (c)
a result of the RRA treatment. However, the RRA 30 struc- a_O.2pm 9
ture still contains many ~7' particles, although their concen-
tration is reduced. The mean size of the r/' particles is Fig. 4--Dark-field micrographs of AI-7075 in the (a) and (b) RRA 30 and
(c) R 30 conditions. The image in (a) was taken using the (00.4), 7, and
slightly larger than that in the T651 structure. This explains doubly-diffracted (24.0),~4 reflections; that in (b) was taken usin_gt h e
the appearance of the 7/' reflections in a more discrete form (20.1),: reflection, which includes the (20.2),r + (1T.6),7, and (22.2),t
rather than as streaks through the "q' reciprocal lattice points reflections within the objective aperture. The image in (c) was taken using
in diffraction patterns of the RRA 30 structure. the (20.1),2 reflection which also includes the (20.2),. + (IT.6),7. and
(22.~).] reflections.

1534--VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984 METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A


(a)
~1~_0.2 la m_..A
(b)
Fig. 5--Dark-field micrographs of AI-7075 in the (a) RRA 10 and
(b) RRA 60 conditions. The image in (a) was taken using the (20.0),. re-
flection, which includes the (00.4)~ + (00.4)74 and (20.0)72 reflections.
The image in (b) was taken using the (T2.0)m and (20.0), 2 reflections.
Three points are noteworthy concerning the R 30 structure
when compared to the R R A 30 structure. Firstly, the overall
particle concentration is significantly lower. Secondly, the
concentrations as well as the sizes of the 7/ variants are
comparable in both microstructures. Finally, the concen-
tration of the ~7' particles is significantly reduced and their
sizes are smaller, being usually less than 5 nm (cf. 6.2 nm
in the RRA 30 structure). Careful examination of these
dark-field images, however, reveals that this structure con-
tains a considerable amount of very fine r/' particles having
sizes less than - 3 nm. Due to their very weak contrast their
sizes could not be determined, and their presence is not
apparent in bright-field images (e.g., Figure 2(b)), thus
giving an erroneous impression of the overall concentration
of precipitates.
It was difficult to determine the morphology of the rf
particles because of their small sizes. However, the appear-
ance of streaks parallel to (1T1) through the ~7' reciprocal
lattice points suggests that they are plate-shaped particles
on {111}. The overall particle concentration, measured in
terms of number per unit projected area, was determined
in regions having the same foil orientation and about
the same foil thickness. The results show that the number
o f particles is relatively high in the R R A 30 structure
(--1.04 • 103//zm 2, which is comparable to that in the
T651 structure27), but is lower in the R 30 condition
( - 0 . 6 1 • 103//xm2). The number of very fine particles ex-
hibiting faint contrast in the R 30 structure is significant;
measurement showed that their number is at least - 1 0 pct
of the total number in the RRA 30 structure. A qualitative
estimate indicated that the proportion of each r/ variant
increases significantly in the R 30 structure. This effect
is m a n i f e s t e d in the overall particle size distribution
(Figure 6), where it is seen that the fraction of particles
larger than - 12 nm increases significantly in the R 30 con-
dition compared to that in the RRA 30 structure. This indi-
cates that the concentration of each "0 variant in the R 30
structure is comparable to that in the RRA 30 structure.
The RRA 10 structure differs from the T651 structure in
two important respects. Firstly, appreciable coarsening of
the r/variants (Table I) has already occurred, resulting in the
slight increase of the proportion of large particle sizes in the
overall particle size distribution. Secondly, the concen-
tration of 7/particles, particularly the r/2 variant, has already
increased significantly. Thus, after only a few seconds of the
retrogression treatment the effect of this heat treatment is
already pronounced.
The study of dark-field images of the RRA 60 structure
also produced two interesting results. The first is the signifi-
cant increase in the concentration of r/particles, particularly

Table I. Characteristics of the Precipitate Dispersions in the Matrix of 7075-T651 Resulting from the Various
Retrogression and Reaging Treatments. The Dimensions (d = diameter, t = thickness, 1 = length) Are in nm.
The Particle Concentrations, Nv, Are Represented Qualitatively by vl = very large, I = large, m = moderate, s = small.

~' (Plate) ~7~(Plate) r/2(Plate) ~/4(Lath)

d t Nv d t N,, d t Nv l d Nv
RRA 30 6.2 1.5 1 13.8 3.0 m 11.4 3.0 rn 15.2 * s
R 30 -<5.0 * m 12.5 3.0 m 11.2 3.0 m 16.4 * s
RRA 10 5.0 * vl 12.8 3.0 m 11.5 2.0 m 10.0 * s
RRA 60 6.5 * m 14.2 5.0 1 13.8 5.0 1 20.8 7.5 m
9not measured

METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONSA VOLUME 15A, AUGUST1984-- 1535

 30
20 (a) RRA 30
,o
Z
w
30
o
w
LI.
(c) RRA 10
20
10
I~r,? ~ I
5 10 15 20
Fig. 6 - - T h e overall size distribution of the particles in the matrix of A1-7075 in the RRA 30, R 30, RRA 10, and
RRA 60 conditions. The size refers to the diameters of the plate-shaped 77', rh, and r/2 particles and the length of
the lath-shaped r/4 particles. A doubled size interval was used for panicles larger than 12.5 nm because of their low
population. The average size in (a) is 7.7 nm, in (b) 9.7 nm, in (c) 7.2 nm, and in (d) 11.9 nm.
the r/l variant, compared to that in the RRA 30 structure
(Table I). The second is that considerable coarsening of all
the rt variants occurs as the immersion time increases from
30 to 60 seconds, shifting the peak in the histograms from
5 to 10 nm to 10 to 15 nm (Figure 6). The sizes of the r/
variants are very comparable to those in the T7 structure. 27
However, the RRA 60 structure still shows the presence of
some fine r/' particles.
It is interesting to note that no appreciable increase in the
overall average particle size, d, is found during the initial
period (up to 20 to 30 seconds) of the retrogression treat-
ment, although significant coarsening of the r/ particles,
particularly the rt~ and '1'74types, occurs during that time.
General coarsening occurs rapidly afterwards. The rela-
tively constant value of d is due to the partial dissolution
of/he r/precipitates, which compensates for the growth of
the r/particles.
On the examination of various thin foils in both bright-
and dark-field, it appeared that some fine r/' particles nucle-
ate along dislocation lines. These particles were usually
visible in dark-field images taken using the r/' reflection.
Dark-field dislocation images were examined to confirm
this observation. Careful comparison of various dark-field
images of the r/' particles with dark-field dislocation images
indicated that some of the r/' particles in fact nucleate along
dislocation lines. An example is seen in Figure 7; Fig-
1536--VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984
I (b) R 30
(d) RRA 60
25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
PARTICLE SIZE (nm)
are (7a) is a dark-field image taken using the (00.10) 7,
and (24.0)~4 reflections, and Figure 7(b) is a dark-field
dislocation image taken using g = (1]-1) with g = (333)
strong (fine particles are also seen in the background of
Figure 7(b), due to the fact that the (00.6),, reflection super-
poses on the (1]l)a~ spot). The examination of various
images of these kinds suggests that the extent of hetero-
geneous nucleation of r/' particles is generally small com-
pared with that in the T651 structure. 27
B. Microstructure of Precipitates on Grain Boundaries
The microstructures of regions near grain boundaries, in
particular the width of the PFZs and the size distributions
and dispersions of grain boundary particles, were studied in
an attempt to correlate them with the SCC properties of A1
7075 in the T651, T7, and various RRA conditions. Ex-
truded 7075-T651 typically contains grains highly elongated
in the extrusion direction. The L-ST orientation, which is
the most susceptible to SCC, contains PFZs along the length
of these elongated grains. On the other hand, the L-T orien-
tation, which is the least susceptible to SCC, contains PFZs
distributed randomly among the boundaries of the equiaxed
grains. The results of PFZ width measurements made from
samples in the T651, RRA 30, and T7 conditions (Table II)
indicate that no significant difference can be found, consid-
ering the scatter in the data, although the PFZ width in the
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A

(a)
9 0 . 4 p m_..&
(b)
Fig. 7--Dark-field micrographs of (a) precipitates and (b) dislocations
from a sample of AI-7075 in the RRA 30 condition. The image in (a) was
taken using the (00.10),. and (24.0),4 reflections, while that in (b) was
taken using ~ = (111) with ~ = (3~'3) strong.
most ot the grain boundary particles are r/phase in all heat
treatment conditions.
The microstructure of grain boundary particles in samples
in the T651, T7, and various RRA conditions was examined
by tilting the thin foils through the necessary angles to make
the grain boundaries as normal as possible to the electron
beam. The examination of various grain boundary areas
revealed a large variation in the sizes and numbers of par-
ticles from one boundary to another and from one foil to
another in all heat treatment conditions. This is probably
because the structure of the grain boundary greatly influ-
ences the nucleation of grain boundary precipitates, as dis-
cussed in detail by Unwin and Nicholson. 6 Since it was
shown that the highest concentration of particles is generally
found on random high angle grain boundaries 6 and that it is
these high angle grain boundaries that are most susceptible
to SCC, 28 our examination was for the present purpose con-
fined to boundaries containing the highest density of par-
ticles (a detailed investigation of the effect of the grain
boundary structure on the dispersion of grain boundary par-
ticles is in progress).
Figure 8 shows typical examples of such boundaries
in each heat treatment condition. The particle sizes in the
T651 structure are small and the number of particles is high
(Figure 8(a)), while in the T7 structure (Figure 8(b)) the
particle sizes are large and the number of particles is low.
Comparison of the particle sizes in the RRA 30 structure
with those in the T651 and T7 structures showed that they
are significantly larger than those in the T651 structure but
comparable in size to those in the T7 structure (Figure 8(c)),
while the concentration of particles is relatively low. The
RRA 10 structure contains particles that are already signifi-
cantly larger than those in the T651 structure (Figure 8(d)).
On the other hand, the particle sizes in the RRA 60 structure
were not significantly different from those in the RRA 30
structure, even though the retrogression time is almost
doubled. Rajan et a[. 24 have also shown that the retro-
gression treatment produces an increase in the size of grain
boundary precipitates.*
*The particle sizes in Table III of Rajah et al. appear to be a factor of
100 too large, assuming that the magnification marker in their Figure 5 is
correct. Either way, the sizes reported by them differ substantially from
those in Table II. These discrepancies may be due to sampling differences.

Measurements of the distribution of grain boundary par-

T7 structure appears to be slightly larger than in the other
cases; this observation confirms previous results. 1~-~3'~6
The results of a study of dark-field images of grain bound-
ary particles and observations of their morphology (grain
boundary particles are usually large enough, - 4 0 nm, to
determine their morphology unambiguously) indicate that
ticle sizes, dg, the number of particles per unit area, NA, and
the areal fraction of the grain boundary covered by particles,
Am, w e r e performed using bright-field images such as those
in Figure 8. The results are presented in Table II and Fig-
ure 9. The longest diameter of the plates (along the direction
of the intersection of the grain boundary and foil surfaces)

Table II. PFZ Width and Characteristics of the Dispersion of ~ Precipitates

on the Grain Boundaries in AI-7075 in the Various Temper Conditions
PFZ (rim)
3g (nm) Na (/xm 2 • 10-2) Aa (Pct) VA/k (p.m • 103) L-ST L-T
T651 26.7 5.0 +0.7 13.8 -+0.7 3.67 53.8 +_1.3 46.6 _+4.9
RRA 10 33.8 3.4 +0.7 18.2 _+5.2 6.74 -- --
RRA 30 43.5 3.3 -+1.2 19.3 _+3.7 7.47 54.0 _+9.7 --
RRA 60 44.6 3.0 +--0.8 21.8 -+4.1 9.40 -- --
T7 47.7 3.3 -+0.6 24.3 +-4.7 10.55 59.6 -*-4.0 --

METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984-- 1537

 (a)
~L_O.2Hm_...A
(c)
Fig. 8--Bright-field micrographs of precipitates on the grain boundaries in samples of AI-7075 in various temper conditions: (a) T651; (b) T7;
(c) RRA 30; (d) RRA 10.
was taken as dg. More than 100 particles in five different
grain boundary areas were generally measured in each case.
NA was measured directly from micrographs in which the
projected areas were about 0.15/zm 2. This projected area
was also used for the measurements of AA. It was hard to
measure the exact angles of tilt between the grain boundaries
and the plane of projection. However, it was estimated that
the maximum error arising from the differences between
tilting angles from one sample to another is less than
13 pct. Errors can also arise from the projected images of
matrix particles onto the grain boundary, although the grain
boundary precipitates are in general easily distinguishable
from matrix particles because of their considerably larger
sizes (Figure 8). Nevertheless, the sizes of some of the
smaller grain boundary particles are sometimes comparable
to those of the larger particles in the matrix, particularly
in samples in the T651 temper. Special precautions were
taken in such cases to differentiate those matrix particles
possibly projected onto the grain boundary area, by com-
1538--VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984
(b)
(d)
paring them with the particles in the matrix adjacent to the
grain boundary.
A a w a s measured from the micrographs using lines drawn
parallel to the intersection of the grain boundary and the foil
surfaces. The spacing of the parallel lines was 0.01 /xm and
their length was typically 0.9/xm. Ten lines were typically
used in each analysis and more than five grain boundary
areas were examined in each case. The potential major
sources of error in the measurement of AA are twofold. The
first is associated with the problem of overlapping particles
in the projected area. This problem was avoided by choosing
proper grain boundary areas. The second is the orientation
dependence of the projected particle shape due to the pos-
sibility of different aspect ratios of the particles in the
different conditions. It was assumed that the aspect ratios of
the particles in all conditions are the same.
From Table II it is seen that the mean particle size, dg, in
the T7 structure is significantly larger than that in the T651
structure, and that dg in the RRA 30 structure is comparable
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
 20
(a) T651 (b) T7

10

0 i Ihi I I
20
(c) RRA 30 (d) R 30

o
>-

Z
ug 10
D
uJ
t~

0
, , i i lJ Illll Hl"il
20

10
r~RRA 10
(f) RRA 60

1 I I ~ / _ l I J
20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

PARTICLE SIZE (nm)

Fig. 9 - - S i z e distributions of the particles on the grain boundaries in AI-7075 in the T651, T7, RRA 30, R 30,
RRA 10, and RRA 60 temper conditions. The size of the particles refers to their diameters. Note the bimodal
size distribution in the RRA 30 structure.

to that in the T7 structure. As seen in Figure 9, however, the 60 25 ~.~ ~" 500 100
size distribution of the grain boundary particles in the RRA -\
30 structure appears to be broader than those in the T651 and
T7 structures. In the T651 structure, the sizes of most of the 50 20-k.,.,,~.,~_i 400 80
particles are in the range 20 to 40 nm, while they are in the
range 40 to 60 nm in the T7 structure. In the RRA 30
structure, however, some grain boundaries exhibit particles "~ 40 _ v 15 300 ~ 60 -
of small size (ranging from 20 to 40 nm), which are compa-
rable in size to those in the T651 case, while other grain !,," I
boundaries show large particles, comparable in size to those 30 ~o 6/ I o~-,,( .... ) 200 40
in the T7 case, resulting in a bimodal size distribution. The r- IzxN,,.*.- --)_ ,
[o v,,,/vA(-. l ( " - = ' - )
reason for that is not known at the present time, but further
investigation is in progress. It can be seen in the particle size 20 - 5 , , I , , ,~ 100 ~ 20
distribution characteristic of the RRA 10 structure that the 30 60 T7
proportion of large particles increases, indicating that IMMERSION TIME (s)
particle coarsening has already occurred. Fig. 1 0 - - Variation of the parameters characterizing the dispersion of grain
Figure 10, summarizing the effect of the RRA treatment boundary precipitates in AI-7075-T651 as a function of immersion time
on the dispersion of grain boundary particles, shows the at the retrogression temperature, 240 ~ AA is the areal fraction covered
variation of de, AA, and NA as a function of immersion time, by particles on the grain boundaries, d~ is the mean particle size, Na is
the number of particles//zm ~, and VA is the volume of particles//zm 2.
together with the corresponding values in the T7 structure.
The values of Va are normalized to that in the T7 structure. Note the
AA and d Rincrease rapidly, while Na decreases rapidly in the rapid increase in de, Aa, and VA during the initial period of the retrogres-
initial period of the retrogression treatment and very slowly sion treatment.
a f t e r w a r d s . AA reaches --80 pct of its value in the T7 struc-
ture within 30 seconds of the retrogression treatment, and is
already significantly larger than that in the T651 structure The volume of grain boundary precipitates per unit grain
( - 5 7 pct of its value in the T7 structure) after a retro- boundary area, VA, can be calculated using the measured
gression treatment of only 10 seconds (--75 pct of its value parameters AA and NA, assuming that the plate-shaped par-
in the T7 structure). ticles are randomly oriented on the grain boundary area and
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984--1539
that the aspect ratio of the particles, k = t/r, (where t is the
plate thickness and r the plate radius) is small. The mean
projected area, which is given by 7rr2/2, can be calculated
by the integral of the projected area at a given orientation
times its probability over all possible orientations. As-
suming that k is constant (-0.18), VA is given by VA =
1.6k AA3/Z/NA1/2. Values of ga/k for the various heat treat-
ment conditions are also summarized in Table II. Figure 10
shows the variation of VA as a function of retrogression time,
normalized to its value in the T7 structure. It is seen that VA
in the T651 structure is small compared with that in the T7
structure ( - 3 5 pct). VA increases rapidly during the initial
period of the retrogression treatment (as does AA), reaching
--65 pct of its value in the T7 structure within 10 seconds
immersion time and - 7 0 pct of its value in the T7 structure
within 30 seconds immersion time.
IV. DISCUSSION
A. Effect of the RRA Treatment on the Microstructure of
Matrix Precipitates
The processes occurring during the retrogression treat-
ment in the matrix can be summarized as follows. Firstly,
comparison of the RRA 30 and R 30 structures leads to the
conclusion that a significant fraction, -V3 of the total par-
ticles, either partially or completely dissolves and that the
dissolving particles are mainly r/' precipitates, since the
concentration of each r/variant is found to be comparable in
both structures. The presence of a significant amount of very
fine 7' particles in the R 30 structure suggests that many of
the dissolving particles remain incompletely dissolved near
the minimum hardness condition of retrogression. It is evi-
dent that the drop in hardness observed during the early
stages of retrogression is due to precipitate dissolution, as
surmised by Danh et al.25 The dissolving precipitates are not
GP zones, however. They are instead r/' particles. Coarsen-
ing of the r t phase precipitates at this early stage was appar-
ently not observed by them.
Secondly, the phase transformation r/' ~ rt appears to
start in the early stage of the retrogression treatment. The
results show that the concentration of ~ particles, particu-
larly the 172 variant in the RRA 30 structure, significantly
increases while the concentration of the 77' particles de-
creases, compared to those in the T651 structure. The con-
centration of the 774 particles also increases appreciably.
Even the number of the r/2 particles in the RRA 10 structure
increases significantly. These observations can be inter-
preted as an indication that some of the more stable large r/'
particles transform to r/particles, particularly the r/: variant
which has the same orientation relationship with the matrix
as r/', i.e., (10.0)II (110)al; (00.1)II (1]l)a~. This agrees with
the observation of Gjonnes and Simensen z9 and DeArdo and
Simensen, 3~who studied two-step aging of pure A1-Zn-Mg
alloys, that some of the r/' particles formed at a lower aging
temperature transform to '/72 particles during up-quenching
to a higher aging temperature. It is also possible that some
of the r/particles transform to the "04 variant, since 774 has
the same habit plane, {111}, as r/'.
These results may be explained by the theory of two-step
aging of Lorimer and Nicholson. 3~ They proposed that par-
ticles of an intermediate phase formed during aging under its
1540--VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984
solvus temperature can survive during up-quenching to
above its solvus temperature and transform to a more stable
phase if their sizes exceed a critical size, de, at the higher
temperature. Meanwhile, smaller particles, the sizes of
which are less than d,., dissolve during the up-quench.
Thirdly, coarsening of the r/particles occurs. On com-
paring the RRA 30 and T651 structures, 27 it is seen that the
RRA treatment causes a significant increase in the sizes of
the r/ particles, particularly the r/l and TI4 variants. This
occurs mostly during the retrogression treatment, since the
sizes and distributions of the r/ particles in the RRA 30
structure are similar to those in the R 30 structure. The
results on the RRA 10 structure indicate that some coarsen-
ing of the r/particles has already occurred after only a few
seconds of the retrogression treatment. As the retrogression
time increases from 30 to 60 seconds, significant coarsening
of all the r/variants occurs.
Finally, examination of the RRA 60 structure shows that
as the retrogression time increases from 30 to 60 seconds,
the number of r/ particles, particularly the T]I variant, in-
creases. An appreciable increase in the number of the "1"/4
particles occurs as well. This suggests that the precipitation
of r/particles, particularly the rh variant, occurs during the
retrogression treatment. It is concluded that the r/' particles
in the T651 structure, the sizes of which are smaller than dc
corresponding to the retrogression temperature of 240 ~
become unstable on up-quenching to the retrogression tem-
perature and gradually dissolve during the initial period of
the retrogression treatment. All the unstable particles will
tend to dissolve. If the proportion of unstable particles is
very large and the overall concentration of the solid solution
resulting from the dissolution of these particles exceeds the
solubility limit of the stable phase at the retrogression tem-
perature, the solid solution can become supersaturated with
respect to the stable phase. When the degree of super-
saturation becomes sufficient to drive the nucleation of the
equilibrium phase at a reasonable rate, the precipitation of
that phase will occur. We believe that this happens in the
present case, since examination of the R 30 structure shows
that a significant portion of the r/' particles dissolves during
the retrogression treatment.
Mondolfo et al.,32 in their X-ray study of a pure AI-6Zn-
2Mg alloy, found that the r/and T phases form together at
temperatures between 200 and 300 ~ Within the aging
times (up to 60 seconds) at 240 ~ investigated in this study,
no appreciable formation of the T phase was observed,
although small amounts were occasionally detected. The
reason for this is not well understood, but the observation
suggests that the nucleation of the T phase is more difficult
than that of the rt phase when the alloy is subjected to the
multistage heat treatment used in the present study.
The process occurring during the reaging treatment ap-
pears to be either the growth of the partly dissolved r/'
particles or the reprecipitation of the 77' particles. Since the
results show that a significant fraction of the dissolving r/'
particles still exhibits faint contrast after the retrogression
treatment, it appears that the growth process contributes, to
a significant extent, to the presence of many r/' particles in
the RRA structure. Some of these are nucleated hetero-
geneously, although this is a minor effect. Nevertheless, this
result is of interest because the original intent of the RRA
treatment of Cina and Ranish 2~ was to dissipate localized
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
 dislocation populations associated with undissolved r/par-
ticles, based upon the hypothesis of Jacobs 33 that these are
the primary sites for stress corrosion attack in the 7075
alloy. The present results, however, show that most of the
heterogeneously nucleated particles are metastable r/' pre-
cipitates, rather than the more stable r/phase, and that the
concentration of ~q' precipitates heterogeneously nucleated,
although larger than that in the RRA structure, is generally
small even in the T651 structure. 27It is believed that the high
strength of the RRA structure, which is comparable to that
of the T651 structure, is partly due to the presence of many
fine r/' particles, as concluded by Danh et al. 25 These par-
ticles are probably coherent or semicoherent, and either
persist or nucleate during the reaging treatment. This high
strength is retained even though the r/particles in the RRA
structure have significantly coarsened compared with those
in the T65 1 structure.
The retrogression curve (Figure 1) may now be explained
in terms of the present microstructural results. The ini-
tial decrease of hardness with immersion time is mainly
due to the dissolution of small unstable r/' particles and
coarsening of "O particles. The precipitation of r/particles
(particularly rh) from the supersaturated solid solution that
results from the dissolution of unstable r/' particles occurs in
competition with these processes, after a certain amount of
r/' particles has dissolved. As the retrogression time in-
creases the precipitation rate increases and the dissolution
rate decreases, which results in an increase in the overall
particle concentration. The amount of this increase will de-
pend on the concentration of unstable r t' particles.
The situation is schematically represented in Figure 11. It
is seen that the total concentration of particles, following the
initial decrease, increases with the retrogression time due to
the competitive contributions from the precipitation and dis-
solution processes; the final decrease in the total concen-
tration of particles results from general overall coarsening.
This explains the slight increase of hardness following the
initial decrease. Danh et al. 25 attributed this increase to an
increase in the volume fraction of r/', while the present
results demonstrate that it is due mainly to the precipitation
of r/particles. We fully agree with Danh et al. that further
0 agrees with previous results of studies of the relationship
>
I- AGING TIME
~ R
<1
D the susceptibility of A1-Mg-Zn alloys to SCC. Kent, 9'~1 in
Fig. 11 - - Schematic diagram showing the variation of the concentration of
particles (AN/unit volume) as a function of aging time at the retrogression
temperature, 240 ~ The curves labeled P and D represent the variation of
the contribution of the concentrations of the particles due to the precipi-
tation of ~ particles and due to the dissolution of "0' particles, respectively.
The curve labeled R represents the variation of the overall precipitate
concentration.
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
increases in the retrogression time lead to general coarsening
of all the particles, resulting in a softening of the alloy.
The time corresponding to the minimum hardness in the
retrogression curve was originally thought to be an optimum
time for the retrogression treatment, producing the best
combination of strength and resistance to SCC. Wallace
et al. 22 have demonstrated that the minimum has no such
significance. Nevertheless, the minimum happens to corre-
spond to the time at which maximum dissolution of small r/'
particles occurs without appreciable nucleation of the rtl
particles. At the same time, the coarsening of the r t particles
and the transformation of "O' to r/precipitates occur. This
probably explains a previous observation that the RRA
structure appears to be an overaged structure. 17 Papazian t7
reported in his recent study of the DSC characteristics of
7075 in the T6, T73, and RRA tempers, that the dissolution
characteristics of the RRA structure were similar to those of
the T73 structure. The present results indicate, however,
that although the retrogression treatment causes significant
coarsening of the ",7 particles, producing an RRA structure
that appears to be an overaged structure, the sizes and con-
centrations of r/particles are still significantly lower than
those in the T7 structure. 27 Furthermore, the RRA structure
contains many fine r t' particles, in contradistinction to the
T7 structure in which the rh and r/2 particles are the principal
constituents. 27 In addition, the overall precipitate concen-
tration is significantly higher in the RRA structure than in
the T7 structure. It is believed that the relatively high overall
particle concentration in the RRA structure also contributes
to the strength of this structure, in agreement with pre-
vious conclusions that the hardness of pure A1-Zn-Mg
alloys is greatly dependent on the degree of dispersion of the
precipitates. 30.34
B. Effect o f the RRA Treatment on the Microstructure o f
Grain Boundary Precipitates
The results in Table II and Figure 10 show that the struc-
ture of the grain boundary particles depends significantly on
the heat-treatment conditions; in the peak-aged 7075-T651
structure, which is most susceptible to SCC, d R and AA are
small and NA is high, while in the overaged 7075-T7 struc-
ture, which is least susceptible to SCC, d e and Aa are large
and NA is small. As a consequence of the change in these
parameters, VA is significantly higher in the overaged T7
structure than in the T651 structure. This suggests that the
susceptibility of the 7075 alloy to SCC decreases as the
grain boundary particles coarsen. This result generally
between the microstructure of grain boundary particles and
susceptibility to SCC of pure A1-Zn-Mg alloys TM ~.~2and of
the commercial 7075 alloy.~~
Despite this correlation, there has been some controversy
over the role of the dispersion of grain boundary particles on
his study of the relationship between the microstructure
and stress corrosion life-time of a pure A1-4.3 pct Zn-
2.3 pct Mg alloy, reported that the stress corrosion life-
time increases as NA decreases during overaging, and that
there is a critical value of NA below which the alloy be-
comes immune to SCC. Adler et al. 13reported that the resis-
tance of the commercial 7075 alloy to SCC increases as the
interparticle spacing (probably center-to-center), which is
VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984--1541
proportional to NA 1/2, increases during overaging. They
attributed the increased resistance of the overaged structure
to the decrease in Na (the increase in the interparticle spac-
ing), basing their argument on the theory of Dix and his
co-workers l'z'3 that grain boundary particles would act as
crack initiation sites due to preferential anodic dissolution.
According to this point of view, the resistance to SCC
should increase as both AA and NA decrease.
The present results show a different trend, however, es-
pecially on taking into account the 7075-RRA structure. It
is reported ~~ that the susceptibility of the 7075-RRA
structure to SCC is much lower than the 7075-T6 structure
and is comparable to (but generally higher than) the sus-
ceptibility of the 7075-T7 structure. From Table II and
Figure 10, it is seen that AA and dg are large and NA is lOW
(resulting in a high value of VA) in the RRA 30 structure.
From these results it can be deduced that the susceptibility
of 7075 alloy to SCC decreases a s Am increases concomi-
tantly with a decrease in NA. It is also of interest to note that
the value of Na in the RRA 30 structure is about the same
as it is in the T7 structure, although AA in the RRA 30
structure is lower ( - 8 0 pct of its value in the T7 structure).
However, comparison of the values of VA in the three heat
treatment conditions indicates that there is a certain trend
that the susceptibility to SCC decreases as VA increases, in
agreement with the results of an earlier study of a pure
A1-Zn-Mg alloy. 7'12 Therefore, it appears, on taking into
account changes in both AA and NA, that VA could be a more
relevant parameter in determining the susceptibility of 7075
alloy to SCC than the individual values of AA or NA. This
suggests that anodic dissolution of grain boundary parti-
cles controls SCC of A1 7075 alloy. Since crack velocity
is determined by the anodic current density, it is expected
that the crack velocity decreases as Va (which is a mea-
sure of the anodic area per unit length along the grain
boundary) increases when the dissolution process is cathodi-
cally controlled.
These results are qualitatively in agreement with the con-
clusions of Haag et al. 7 and Poulose et al. 12who investigated
a pure A1-5,5 Zn-2.5 Mg alloy. From their measurements of
stress corrosion crack velocity they found that the steady-
state (Stage II) crack velocity, v, is inversely proportional to
VA. Since a linear relationship between v and VA~ could be
derived under conditions of cathodic polarization, assuming
that the anodic dissolution of grain boundary particles deter-
mines v and that the anodic area per unit crack length is
equal to Va, they concluded that anodic dissolution of the
grain boundary particles, limited by cathodic concentration
polarization, mainly controls the stress corrosion crack ve-
locity of this alloy.
This conclusion differs from that of Papazian, 17 who
reported that the values of ds, AA, and NA in the RRA
structure were similar to those in the T6 structure. This
discrepancy has probably arisen because the dispersion of
grain boundary particles depends greatly on the grain bound-
ary structure. 6
Although the variation of Va correlates well with the sus-
ceptibility of the 7075 alloy to SCC as a function of heat
treatment, we do not imply that this parameter alone can
entirely account for the complex processes which are ex-
pected to occur during SCC. For instance, Chen et al. 35 and
Viswanadham et al. ,36 in their recent microchemical analy-
sis of grain boundaries using Auger Electron Spectroscopy,
1542--VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984
found a marked segregation of solute atoms, particularly
Mg, to grain boundaries in both an as-quenched and over-
aged A1-5.5 Zn-2.5 Mg alloy. They suggested that the seg-
regation of free Mg atoms to the grain boundary may lead
to the formation of Mg-H complexes, which would either
facilitate the passage of hydrogen atoms through the sur-
face film and/or the accumulation of hydrogen along
grain boundaries. This eventually would lead to hydrogen
embrittlement of the alloy. Doig et al. 37 and Doig and
Edington 38measured solute concentration profiles within the
PFZ in a pure A1-Zn-Mg alloy using an electron energy
analyzing microscope and found that the susceptibility to
SCC was related to the extent of the Mg depletion region.
Doig et al. 39 further studied the microsegregation of solute
atoms to grain boundaries in the commercial 7075 alloy
using a scanning transmission electron microscope and en-
ergy dispersive X-ray analysis. They reported that Cu was
depleted at the grain boundaries in an overaged sample
(T7X) compared with a peak-aged sample (T6). These re-
suits were interpreted in terms of their influence on the
cathodic current, assuming that anodic dissolution of the
matrix is cathodically controlled.
As previously mentioned, the present results show that
grain boundary particles coarsen rapidly during the short
initial period of the retrogression treatment. If segregated
solute atoms are present at grain boundaries and/or solute
atom concentration profiles exist within a PFZ in a sample
in the T651 condition, it is possible that they could con-
tribute to the initial coarsening of grain boundary particles
during the retrogression treatment, resulting in a modi-
fication of the solute atom concentration profiles near the
grain boundary region. This associated effect of the coarsen-
ing of grain boundary particles could also contribute to
enhancing the resistance of the 7075 alloy to SCC. How-
ever, a detailed microanalytical study is required to assess
the merit of this hypothesis.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The microstructure of the commercial 7075 alloy in the
T651-RRA temper contains the "0' transition phase and three
variants of the '0 phase ('01, "02, and "04), as do the micro-
structures of the 7075 alloy in the T651 and T7 tempers. The
principal differences among the various microstructures are
associated with the concentrations, the sizes, and the size
distributions of the "0' precipitates and each of the three
"0 variants. The structure of 7075-RRA contains many
fine "0' particles, some larger "0~ and r/2 particles, and a
smaller amount of coarse "04 particles, resulting in a rela-
tively broad particle size distribution. The overall particle
concentration is relatively high, comparable to that in the
7075-T651 structure.
The processes involved during the retrogression treatment
in the matrix are fourfold: (1) dissolution of the smaller '0'
particles; (2) transformation of the larger "0' particles to '0
phase precipitates, particularly the '0z variant; (3) coarsening
of all the commonly observed "0 variants, i.e., "01, "02, and
"04; (4) precipitation of the '0 phase, particularly the '0~ vari-
ant. Meanwhile, initial rapid coarsening of the grain bound-
ary particles characterizes the effect of the retrogression
treatment on the dispersion of grain boundary particles. The
process occurring during the reaging treatment is believed
METALLURGICAL TRANSACTIONS A
to be mainly either the growth of the partly dissolved r/'
particles or the reprecipitation of the 7' phase.
The susceptibility of commercial 7075 alloy to SCC is
closely related to the microstructure of the grain boundary
particles which depends, in turn, on the aging process. Of
the parameters characterizing the microstructure of the grain
boundary particles, Va is considered to be the most relevant
parameter related to the susceptibility to SCC: the sus-
ceptibility to SCC decreases as VA increases.
The high strength of the 7075 alloy in the RRA temper,
which is comparable to that of the 7075-T651 structure, is
considered to arise from both the presence of many fine r/'
particles (which are probably coherent) and of the high
overall concentration of particles in this structure. The bene-
ficial effect of the RRA treatment on the susceptibility of
7075-T651 to SCC is believed to be partly due to the in-
crease in Va resulting from the initial rapid coarsening of the
grain boundary particles.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are grateful to the Office of Naval Research
for their financial support of this research under contract
number N00014-81-K-0292.
REFERENCES
1. E.H. Dix, Jr.: Trans. ASM, 1950, vol. 42, p. 1057.
2. R.B. Mears, R. H. Brown, and E. H. Dix, Jr.: Symposium on "Stress
Cracking of Metals," ASTM-AIME, 1944, p. 329.
3. E.H. Dix, Jr.: Trans. AIME, 1940, vol. 132, p. 11.
4. A.J. Sedriks, J. A. S. Green, and D. L. Novak: U, R. Evans Int. Conf.
on "Localized Corrosion," R. W. Staehle, B. E Brown, J. Kruger, and
A. Agarwal, eds., NACE, Houston, TX, 1974, p. 569.
5. A.J. Sedriks, J. A. S. Green, and D. L. Novak: Metall. Trans., 1973,
vol. 4, p. 1992.
6. P. N.T. Unwin and R.B. Nicholson: Acta Metall., 1969, vol. 17,
p. 1379.
7. R. Haag, J. E. Morral, and A. J. McEvily: Proc. Conf. on "Environ-
mental Degradation of Engineering Materials," M. R. Louthan, Jr. and
R.P. McNitt, eds., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA,
1977, p. 19.
8. C.J. Peel and P. Poole: Proc. Int. Conf. "Mechanisms of Environment
Sensitive Cracking of Materials," P.R. Swann, F.P. Ford, and
A. R. C. Westwood, eds., Metals Soc., London, 1977, p. 147.
METALLURGICALTRANSACTIONS A
9. K.G. Kent: J. Aust. Inst. Metals, 1970, vol. t5, p. 171.
10. B.V. Narasimha Rao: Metall. Trans. A, 1981, vol. 12A, p. 1356.
11. K.G. Kent: J. Inst. Metals, 1969, vol. 97, p. 127.
12. P.K. Poulose, J. E. Mortal, and A. J. McEvily: Metall. Trans., 1974,
vol. 5, p. 1393.
13. P.N. Adler, R. Delasi, and G. Geschwind: Metall. Trans., 1972,
vol. 3, p. 3191.
14. A.J. McEvily, J.B. Clark, and A.P. Bond: Trans. ASM, 1967,
vol. 60, p. 66I.
15. A.J. Sedriks, P.W. Slattery, and E.N. Pugh: Trans. ASM, 1969,
vol. 62, p. 238.
16. A.J. DeArdo and R. D, Townsend: Metall. Trans., 1970, vol. 1,
p. 2573.
17. J.M. Papazian: NASC Report RE-627, Grumman Aerospace Corp.,
Bethpage, NY, April 1981.
18. D.O. Sprouls and R. H. Brown: Metals Progr., 1962, vol. 81, p. 79.
19. D.O. Sprouls and R. H. Brown: Metals Progr., 1962, vol. 81, p. 77.
20. B. Cina and B. Ranish: "New Technique for Reducing Susceptibility
to Stress Corrosion of a High-Strength Aluminum Alloy," Israel Air-
craft Industries, Ltd., Lod Airport, Israel, unpublished work, 1973.
21. B. Cina: U.S. Patent 3856584, December 24, 1974.
22. W. Wallace, J. C. Beddoes, and M. C. de Malherbe: Canad. Aero. and
Space Jour., 1981, vol. 27, p. 222.
23. R E. Swanson, I.M. Bernstein, and A.W. Thompson: Scr. Met.,
1982, vol. 16, p. 321.
24. K. Rajan, W. Wallace, and J.C. Beddoes: J. Mater. Sci., 1982,
vol. 17, p. 2817.
25. N.C. Danh, K. Rajah, and W. Wallace: Metall. Trans. A, 1983,
vol~ 14A, p. 1843.
26. R. Delasi and P. N. Adler: MetalL Trans. A, 1977, vol. 8A, p. 1177.
27. J.K. Park and A. J. Ardell: Metall. Trans. A, 1983, vol. 14A, p. 1957.
28. T. Asahi, F. Yabusaki, K. Osamura, and Y. Murakami: Int. Conf.
on "Light Metals," Leoben/Vienna, Aluminum-Verlag, GMBH,
Dusseldorf, 1975, p. 64.
29. J. Gjonnes and C. J. Simensen: Acta. Metall., 1970, vol. t8, p. 881.
30. A.J. DeArdo, Jr. and C.J. Simensen: Metall. Trans., 1973, vol. 4,
p. 2413.
3l. G.W. Lorimer and R. B. Nicholson: The Mechanism of Phase Trans-
formations in Crystalline Solids, Inst. Metals, London, 1968, p. 36.
32. L. E Mondolfo, N. A. Gjostein, and D. W. Levinson: Trans. AIME,
1956, vol. 206, p. 1378.
33. A.J. Jacobs: Trans. ASM, 1965, vol. 58, p. 579.
34. G. Thomas and J. Nutting: J. Inst. Metals, 1959-60, vol. 88, p. 81.
35. J.M. Chen, T.S. Sun, R.K. Viswanadham, and J. A. S. Green:
Metall. Trans. A, 1977, vol. 8A, p. 1935.
36. R.K. Viswanadham, T. S. Sun, and J. A. S. Green: Metall. Trans. A,
1980, vol. I IA, p. 85.
37. P. Doig, J.W. Edington, and G. Hibbert: Phil. Mag., 1973, vol. 28,
p. 971.
38. P. Doig and J. W. Edington: Corrosion, 1975, vol. 31, p. 347.
39. P. Doig, P. E.J. Flewitt, and J.W. Edington: Corrosion, 1977,
vol. 33, p. 47.
VOLUME 15A, AUGUST 1984-- 1543