Bildiriler Kitabı
Aluminum Sheet Production: Heat Treatment of
Aluminium and Temper Designations of Aluminium Alloys
Abstract
Easily recyclable, lightweight, relatively soft, durable,
highly workable, high electrical conductivity, ductile
aluminium is considered as a material with a bright
future. Some of the many uses for aluminium metal has a
wide range of applications as in transportation, packaging,
construction, electronics, aerospace, engineering areas.
Aluminium alloy through a heat treatment can increase
these properties still further. For reasons of strength,
however, heat treatment will almost always be inevitable
to bring such mechanical properties as yield point, tensile
strength and elongation at the desired optimum level for
different application areas.
The general types of heat treatments applied to aluminum
and its alloys are: Preheating or homogenizing, annealing,
solution heat treatments, precipitation heat treatments.
This work relates to the understanding of the temper
designation system for both wrought and cast aluminium
alloys. System of aluminium alloys and temper is stated at
different standard around the world.
The temper identification of an aluminum alloy provides
that create a common language between consumers and
producers and the temper has been produced in order to
obtain specific and desired properties and characteristics.
1. Introduction
Aluminium, due to its special combination of properties,
occupies a unique position among metals.
There are two principal classifications, namely casting
alloys and wrought alloys, both of them are further
subdivided into the categories heat-treatable and non –
heat
treatable alloys.
18. Uluslararası Metalurji ve Malzeme Kongresi
TMMOB Metalurji ve Malzeme Mühendisleri Odası
Eda Dağdelen, Ali Ulus
Teknik Alüminyum A.Ş. - Türkiye
Thus as has been described above, the alloys from 1xxx to
8xxx series could be classified as non heat treatable or
heat treatable.
Table 1. Heat Treatable and Non- Heat Treatable Alloys
Classification Alloys
Non – Heat Treatable 1xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx, 5xxxx,
8xxx series alloys
Heat Treatable 2xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx series alloys
Aluminium alloys are classified as heat treatable or non -
heat treatable, depending on whether or not they respond
to precipitation hardening. Heat treatable alloys are also
produced by the addition of alloying elements to the pure
aluminium. These elements include copper (2xxx series),
magnesium and silicon, which is able to form the
compound magnesium silicide (6xxx series), and zinc
(7xxx series). [1]
The heat treatable alloys contain elements that decrease in
dissolubility with decreasing temperature and in
concentrations that exceed their balance solid dissolubility
at room and fractionally higher temperatures.
A normal heat treatment cycle includes a solutionizing
soak at high temperature to maximize dissolubility,
followed by quick cooling or quenching to a low
temperature to obtain a solid solution supersaturated with
both solute elements and vacancies.
1xxx – 3xxx and 5xxx series alloys are designated to the
major non–heat – treatable aluminium. These alloys
consist of the pure aluminum alloys (1xxx series),
manganese alloys (3xxx series), silicon alloys (4xxx
series) and magnesium alloys (5xxx series). [1]
Differently from the heat treatable alloys, which welded
strength from precipitation hardening, the non-heat-
treatable alloys are strengthened by elements in solid
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UCTEA Chamber of Metallurgical & Materials Engineers Proceedings Book

solution and dislocation structures introduced by cold
Strain hardened and lacquered or painted-
rolling. designated by H4. [2]

2.Tempers The second numerical digit is based on scale of hardness.

2.1. Temper Designations Table 3. Temper designation system for strain hardened wrought
aluminium and aluminium alloys [3]
Having understood the alloy designations, it is important
to have knowledge of the various tempers and temper Temper Designations
codes through which a product in any spesific alloy is
defined for its physical properties. [2] Temper consist of a H12 Strain-hardened - 1/4 hard.
letter that may or may not be followed by one or more H14 Strain-hardened - 1/2 hard.
numbers that indicate operations that have taken place at H16 Strain-hardened - 3/4 hard.
H18 Strain-hardened - 4/4 hard (fully hardened).
the mill. There are five basic temper designations:
H19 Strain-hardened - extra hard.
Hxx4 Applies to embossed or patterned sheet or strip, fabricated
Table 2. Basic temper designation from the corresponding Hxx temper.
Hxx5 Strain-hardened - applies to welded tubes.
Temper Designations H111 Annealed and slightly strain-hardened (less than H11)
during subsequent operations such as stretching or levelling.
H112 Slightly strain-hardened from working at an elevated
F As Fabricated  No controlled strain hardening or thermal temperature from a limited amount of cold work
treatment operations have taken place. There are no (mechanical property limits specified).
specified mechanical properties and strength levels may H116 Applies to aluminium-magnesium alloys with a magnesium
vary greatly. content of 4% or more and for which mechanical property
limits and exfoliation corrosion resistance are specified.
H22 Strain-hardened and partially annealed - 1/4 hard.
0 Such wrought products, which are annealed fully to reduce H24 Strain-hardened and partially annealed - 1/2 hard.
hardness and strength, highest ductility temper. H26 Strain-hardened and partially annealed - 3/4 hard.
H28 Strain-hardened and partially annealed - 4/4 hard (fully
hardened).
H Strain hardened wrought –products only. Applies where the H32 Strain-hardened and stabilized - 1/4 hard.
strength is increased by strain hardening, with or without H34 Strain-hardened and stabilized - 1/2 hard.
supplementary thermal treatments to produce some H36 Strain-hardened and stabilized - 3/4 hard.
reduction in strength. (The H is always followed by two or H38 Strain-hardened and stabilized - 4/4 hard (fully hardened).
more digits.) H42 Strain-hardened and painted or lacquered - 1/4 hard.
H44 Strain-hardened and painted or lacquered - 1/2 hard.
H46 Strain-hardened and painted or lacquered - 3/4 hard.
W Solution heat treated. An unstable temper applicable only to H48 Strain-hardened and painted or lacquered - 4/4 hard (fully
alloys which spontaneously age at room temperature, after hardened)
solution heat treatment this designation is specific only
when the period of natural aging is indicated. “ T “ tempers can be subdivided in T1 through T10 and a
few more and a brief out line of these designations are
T Thermally treated to produce stable tempers other than F, O, given here in below:
or H. The T is always followed by one or more digits
Table 4. Subchapter of T temper – thermally treated [4]

Temper Designations
2.2. Further Details of Tempers

Having discussed the basic approach to designate the
product – temper, the topic shall be dealt in a little more
details.
“ H “ temper can have four further groups and tempers as
defined here in below:

Strain hardened only-designated by H1.

Strain hardened and partially annealed-
designated by H2.

Strain hardened and stabilized – designated by
H3.
T1 Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process
and naturally aged to a significantly stable condition.
T2 Cold worked after cooling from an elevated temperature
shaping process and then naturally aged.
T3 Solution heat treated, cold worked and naturally aged.
Applies to products which are cold worked to improve
strength or in which the effect of cold work in flattening
or straightening is recognized in mechanical property
limits.
T4 Solution heat treated and naturally aged to substantially
stable condition. Applies to products which are not cold

682 IMMC 2016 | 18 th International Metallurgy & Materials Congress

Bildiriler Kitabı TMMOB Metalurji ve Malzeme Mühendisleri Odası

worked after solution heat treatment, or in which the 3.2.1. Quenching:

effect of cold work in flattening or straightening may not
be recognized in mechanical property limits.
Quenching is an operation of cooling carried out at a rate
higher than the critical cooling rate that is to say above the
Temper Designations minimum rate of cooling, which ensures the elements to
remain in solid solutions.
T5 Artificially aged after cooling from an elevated
temperature shaping process.

T6 Solution heat treated and artificially aged.

T7 Solution heat treated and stabilized. Applies to products

which are stabilized to carry them beyond the point of
maximum strength to provide control of growth and
residual stress.

T8 Solution heat treated, cold worked and artificially aged

T9 Solution heat treated, artificially aged and cold worked.

T10 Cold worked after cooling from an elevated temperature

shaping process and then artificially aged.

3. Heat Treatment Process:

The application of the term heat treatable to aluminium

alloys, both wrought and cast, is limited to the specific
operations employed to increase strength and hardness by
precipitation hardening thus the term heat treatable serves
to select the heat treatable alloys from those alloys in
which no significant strength improvement can be
achieved by heating and cooling.
3.1. Annealing:
Annealing, a process that reduces strength and hardness
while increasing ductility, can also be used for both the
non-heat-treatable and heat treatable grades of wrought
and cast alloys.
If cold-worked aluminum alloys are heated to a
sufficiently high temperature for a sufficiently long time.
Annealing process can be divided in 3 distinct parts:
recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth. During
recovery, the internal stresses due to cold work are
reduced, with some loss of strength and a recovery of
some ductility. During recrystallization, new undeformed
nuclei form and grow until they impinge on each other to
form a new recrystallized grain structure. [5]
Annealing methods may be divided openly into two
general approaches: batch annealing and continuous
annealing.
3.2. Solution Heat Treatment:
Figure 1. Temperature uniformity profiles [8]
Quenching is usually accomplished by plunging heat-
soaked metal into cold water or flushing water over it at
high flow rates.
3.2.2. Aging:
Aging is the step where the supersaturated, is heated
below the solidus temperature to produce a finely
dispersed precipitate. Atoms diffuse only short distances
at this aging temperature.
The aging process is also available in different techniques:
Natural aging and artifical aging.
Natural aging has been considered to occur in heat
treatable aluminum alloys together with GP-zone
formation and artificial aging in occurrence with
inconsistent precipitation.
Artificial aging is the treatment of a metal alloy at
elevated temperatures so as to accelerate the changes in
the properties of an alloy as a result of the casting and
forging process. Natural aging is that occurs at room
temperature. [6]

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18. Uluslararası Metalurji ve Malzeme Kongresi | IMMC 2016
UCTEA Chamber of Metallurgical & Materials Engineers Proceedings Book

Figure 2. Degreasing solubility and heat treatment cycle. [7]

4.Annealing Furnace Equipment and Techonology:

An integrated furnace models, incorporating heat transfer Figure 3. Straight nozzles plate [9]
and phase transformation during industrial coil annealing
of aluminium has been developed and used to analyze
macro performance parameters such as furnace
productivity. The model predictions have been
extensively validated with industrial data. [8]

It has been shown that when the coil material is changed

from other materials to aluminium, the dominant
mechanism of radial conduction substantially changes
from conduction through entrapped gases to heat transfer
through contact points.

Whatever the technology, an annealing furnace basically

consists of the following:
Figure 4. High convection rotating flow straight plate system [9]
-Outer casing
- Inner casing References:
- Heating and heat flowing system
- Heat transfer system fan and ventilation pattern [1]<http://www.esabna.com/us >
- Atmosphere arrangement [2] R.V.Singh, Aluminium-Rolling Process, Principles &
- Controlled cooling system Applications.
- Insulation [3] J.B. Benedyk, International Temper Designations
- Door mechanicsm and door sealing Systems for Wrought Aluminium Alloys: Part 1 Strain
- Charge Transport Systems Hardenable (H Temper) Aluminium Alloys, 2009 Light
- Exhaust systems
Metal Age
- Control and visualization system.
[4]<http://www.alumeco.com/Knowledge-and-technique
-Management information and process control
/Aluminium-data>
mechanism.[2]
[5]<https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/2024-
aluminium -quenching>
Especially for heat transfer system fan and ventilation
pattern issue, there is a big effort to obtain higher [6] A.K.Vasuden, R.D.Doherty, Aluminium Alloys-
efficiency in one time. For instance changing the nozzle Contemporary Research and Applications Treatise on
orientation, you can obtain a different flow and heat Materials Science and Technology, Volume 31.
pattern. [7] <http://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/job-
knowledge/heat-treatment-of-welded-joints-part-4-117>
[8]Heat Treatment Reports, M.Raszewski, SECO
Warwick ThermAl.
[8] R.Mehta and S.Sahay, Heat Treatment Mechanism and
Furnace Productivity During Coil Annealing:Aluminium
[9]F.C.Campbell, Elements of Metallurgy and
Engineering Alloys, ASM International, 200

684 IMMC 2016 | 18 th International Metallurgy & Materials Congress