DOI 10.

1007/s11041-016-0004-x
Metal Science and Heat Treatment, Vol. 58, Nos. 5 – 6, September, 2016 (Russian Original Nos. 5 – 6, May – June, 2016)

UDC 669.715:620.193.918

EFFECT OF ARTIFICIAL AGING ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE

AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM ALLOY AA6061-T6

Meysam Toozandehjani,1 Faizal Mustapha,2 Mohd Khairol Anuar Ariffin,1 Nur Ismarrubie
Zahari,1 Khamirul Amin Matori,3, 4 Farhad Ostovan,3 and Firouz Fadaeifard3

Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 5, pp. 37 – 40, May, 2016.

The properties of aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 after aging at 220°C for 0.5 – 8 h are studied by the methods of
light and scanning electron microscopy and fractography. The mechanical characteristics of the alloy are de-
termined by tensile tests.

Key words: aluminum alloy, precipitation hardening, microstructure, mechanical properties.

INTRODUCTION METHODS OF STUDY

Alloys of the system Al – Mg – Si – (Cu) account for
roughly 90% of the aluminum alloys used in industry in the
cast and wrought state thanks to their combination of low
unit weight, high strength, and good corrosion resistance
[1, 2]. Alloy AA6061 (AlMg1SiCu) is a multi-purpose mate-
rial among this class of alloys; it is used in construction,
shipbuilding, aerospace, and the automotive industry
[3 – 12]. The alloy is easily shaped, low in cost [13, 14], and
usually delivered in the hardened state T6. The changes
which take place in the mechanical properties and structure
during decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution in
Al – Mg – Si – (Cu) alloys were described in [15, 16] and
[17 – 23], respectively. The complex nature of the phase
transformations in Al – Mg – Si – (Cu) alloys during aging
makes it impossible to completely evaluate their effect on the
mechanical properties.
The goal of this investigation is to determine the changes
in the microstructure, hardness, and mechanical properties of
alloy AA6061-T6 with an increase in aging time.
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Darul
Ehsan, Malaysia.
2
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Darul
Ehsan, Malaysia (e-mail: faizalms@upm.edu.my).
3 ness under a load of 1 N with a dwell time of 10 sec. The
Materials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory, Institute of
Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM
Serdang, Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
4 transverse direction with respect to the rolling direction. The
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Ma-
laysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Plates of alloy AA6061-T6 with dimensions of 150 ´
150 ´ 10 mm were made in the as-received condition T6.
According to data obtained by emission spectroscopy, the al-
loy had the following chemical composition, wt.%: 0.895 Mg;
0.684 Si; 0.135 Fe; 0.254 Cu; 0.12 Mn; 0.094 Cr; 0.002 Zn;
remainder — Al.
Six of the specimens were subjected to solution anneal-
ing at 530°C for 4 h and then quenched in ice water. Heating
rate was 10°C/min. The temperature in the furnace was
maintained to within ± 1°C without the circulation of air or
gas inside it. For the sake of comparison, one specimen was
studied in the as-received state. The quenching medium was
continuously agitated during the quenching operation. Aging
was done at 220°C for 0.5 – 8 h and was followed by cooling
in water.
To perform the microstructural analysis, the surface of
the specimens underwent grinding with abrasive papers hav-
ing a grit rating from 400 to 4000, polishing with diamond
paste having particle sizes of 6 and 1 mm, and finish polish-
ing with colloidal silica on polishing cloth. The size of the
silica particles was 0.05 mm. The microstructure of the alloy
was studied on a Leica optical microscope and a HITACHI
S-3400N scanning electron microscope (SEM) with instru-
mentation for energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The me-
chanical tests were preceded by measurement of microhard-
fracture surfaces were examined on the SEM.
Standard specimens for tensile tests were cut out in the
dimensions of the specimens conformed to the specifications

283
0026-0673/16/0506-0283 © 2016 Springer Science + Business Media New York
284
à b
c d
10 mm
of the standard ASTM E8M 04 [24]. The tests were per-
formed at room temperature on a 100 kN INSTRON testing
machine with a maximum force of 100 kN. Crosshead speed
was a constant 2.0 mm/min.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Figure 1 shows the structure of alloy AA6061-T6 in the
original and aged states. The original structure contained
many finely dispersed precipitates (Fig. 1a ). The nonuni-
form distribution of the precipitates in the matrix was also
à b
c d
1
Meysam Toozandehjani et al.
Fig. 1. Structure of the polished surfaces of speci-
mens of alloy AA6061-T6 in the as-received con-
dition (a) and after aging at 220°C for 0.5 h (b ),
10 mm
2 h (c), and 8 h (d ).
seen in all of the specimens after aging (Fig. 1b – d ). The
structure contained dark, nearly spherical precipitates and
lighter precipitates that were rod-shaped.
Figure 2 shows the structure of the specimens that was
obtained in back-scattered electrons on the electron micro-
scope. As was the case in the metallographic analysis, the
structure contained unevenly distributed precipitates in the
matrix. The structural changes were small (Fig. 2a and b )
during the initial stages of aging (tag = 0.5 and 1 h). An in-
crease in aging time to 2 h resulted in the appearance of a
Fig. 2. Structure of alloy AA6061-T6 after aging at
220°C for 0.5 h (a), 1 h (b ), 2 h (c), and 8 h (d ).
Scanning electron microscopy.
Effect of Artificial Aging on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Alloy AA6061-T6 285

I, conv. units
Figure 4a presents results from determination of hard-
6000 à
Al Element wt.% at.%
ness after aging at 220°C for different lengths of time. Hard-
5000
ness was 106 HV in the as-received condition. It is apparent
4000 Al 52.42 52.28
Mg that the hardness curve passes through a maximum at
3000 Mg 28.02 29.71
Si 19.56 18.01
tag = 2 h, which is consistent with the data reported by other
2000 authors [26, 27]. The hardness peak is related to the forma-
Si
1000 tion of coherent precipitates of b² and b‘ [26, 27] during ag-
ing for 2 h (Fig. 1c and Fig. 2c ).
0 2 4 6 8 10
keV Figure 4b shows the dependence of yield strength s0.2
and ultimate strength su on aging time. Comparison of the
data in Fig. 4a and Fig. 4b shows that the dependences of the
I, conv. units strength indices and hardness on aging time are similar in
Element wt.% at.%
b character. However, ultimate strength does not change as
10,000 Al 74.31 83.18
Al much as yield strength. Yield strength and ultimate strength
8000 Si 5.29 5.69
are nearly identical at the maximum point.
Fe 15.77 8.53 An increase in aging time is accompanied by a decrease
6000
Cr 1.96 1.14
4000 in elongation (Fig. 4c ). It was determined that d = 16% in
Fe Mn 2.67 1.47
2000 Cr the as-received state. Elongation d = 14% at the hardness
Mn
Mn Si Cr Cr Fe Fe peak and d = 16.3% in the overaged state.
0 2 4 6 8 10 Figure 5 shows the fracture surface of specimens that
keV were in their original state and specimens that were aged to
Fig. 3. Results of an energy-dispersive analysis of specimens of al- the maximum hardness. The fracture surface of the original
loy AA6061-T6 having the maximum hardness (after aging at specimens corresponds to the ductile mechanism: the pres-
220°C for 2 h) at points 1 (a) and 2 (b ) (see Fig. 2c ). ence of dimples and voids (Fig. 5a ). It was shown in [28]
that the presence of shallow dimples is evidence of increased
strength.
large number of precipitates of the reinforcing phase, possi-
As the aging process unfolds, the dimples become shal-
bly b² or b¢ (Fig. 2c ). Figure 3 shows the results obtained
lower and cleavage facets appear. This situation corresponds
from energy-disperse analysis of the precipitates. The figure to a mixture of ductile and brittle fracture, as was demon-
contains intense peaks corresponding to the presence of Al, strated in [29]. It can be seen from Fig. 5b that the fracture
Fe, Si, Cr, and Mg in these precipitates. The dark spherical surface of the hardest specimen contained relatively large
particles (point 1 in Fig. 2c ) contained Mg and Si (according cleavage facets.
to the data in [11, 25], these particles also contain magne-
sium-enriched precipitates of a b² phase that has a nominal CONCLUSIONS
composition of Mg2Si and are coherent with the matrix).
Iron-rich precipitates (point 2 in Fig. 2c ) were also distin- 1. Depending on the aging time, at a temperature of
guishable in the structure. Figure 2d shows coarse precipi- 220°C the strength properties of alloy AA6061-T6 change in
tates of an equilibrium b phase formed after 8 h of aging, accordance with a curve that has a maximum, while elonga-
which corresponds to the beginning of overaging. tion undergoes a continuous decrease.

HV, kgf/mm2 sr ; s0.2 , ÌPà d, %

120 390 28
à sr b c
110 340 24
100 290
20
90 240
s0.2
16
80 190
70 140 12

60 90 8
0 2 4 6 8 0 5 10 0 2 4 6 8
t, h t, h t, h

Fig. 4. Dependence of the hardness (a), yield strength and ultimate strength (b ), and elongation (c) of alloy AA6061-T6 on aging time
at 220°C.
286
Dimples
Voids
à 6061 aluminum alloy,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 528, 2718 – 2724
Ductile
Brittle
b 16. I. J. Polmear, Light Alloys — Metallurgy of the Light Metals,
Fig. 5. Fracture surface of alloy AA6061-T1 in the as-received con-
dition (a) and after its aging at 220°C for 2 h to attain the maximum
hardness (b ).
2. Alloy AA6061-T6 reaches its maximum strength after
aging at 220°C for 2 h.
The authors express their thanks to Universiti Putra Ma-
laysia for its financial support of this research. The first au-
thor also thanks Woo Young Ok for help in writing the article
and translating it into English.
REFERENCES
1. J. E. Hatch. Aluminum: Properties and Physical Metallurgy.
American Society for Metals. ASM, Metals Park (1984).
2. J. Buha, R. N. Lumeley, and A. G. Crosky, “Microstructural de-
velopment and mechanical properties of interrupted aged Al –
Mg – Si – Cu alloy,” Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 37, 3119 – 3130
(2006).
3. F. Ozturk, A. Sisman, S. Toros, et al., “Influence of aging treat-
ment on mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy,” Mater.
Des., 31, 972 – 975 (2010).
4. A. O. Adesola, A. G. Odeshi, and U. D. Lanke, “The effects of
aging treatment and strain rates on damage evolution in
AA6061 aluminum alloy in compression,” Ibid., 45, 212 – 221
(2013).
5. G. A. Edwards, K. Stiller, G. L. Dunlop, and M. J. Couper, “The
precipitation sequence in Al – Mg – Si alloys,” Acta Mater., 46,
3893 – 3904 (1998).
6. S. Pogatscher, H. Antrekowitsch, H. T. Leitner, et al., “Mecha-
nisms controlling the artificial aging of Al – Mg – Si alloys,”
Acta Mater., 59, 3352 – 3363 (2011).
7. N. Wang, Z. Zhou, and G. Lu, “Microstructural evolution of
6061 alloy during isothermal heat treatment,” J. Mater. Sci.
Technol., 27, 8 – 14 (2011).
Meysam Toozandehjani et al.
8. G. B. Burger, A. K. Gupta, P. W. Jefferey, and D. J. Lloyd,
“Microstructural control of aluminum sheet used in automotive
applications,” Mater. Charact., 35, 23 – 29 (1995).
9. H. Demir and S. Gunduz, “The effects of aging on machine-
ability of 6061 aluminum alloy,” Mater. Des., 30, 1480 – 1483
(2009).
10. R. Ahmad and M. A. Bakar, “The effect of a post-weld heat
treatment on the mechanical and microstructural properties of
AA6061 joints welded by the gas metal arc cold metal transfer
method,” Ibid., 32, 5120 – 5126 (2011).
11. D. Maisonnettea, M. Suery, D. Nelias, et al., “Effects of heat
treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a
(2011).
12. A. Cuniberti, A. Tolley, M. V. Castro Riglos, and R. Givachini,
“Influence of natural aging on the precipitation hardening of an
AlMgSi alloy,” Ibid., 527(52), 5307 – 5311 (2010).
13. E. Tan, A. A. Kibara, and C. H. Gur, “Mechanical and
microstructural characterization of 6061 aluminum alloy strips
severely deformed by dissimilar channel angular pressing,” Ma-
ter. Charact., 62, 391 – 397 (2011).
14. C. Mapellia, A. Manesa, M. Giglio, et al., “Microstructural in-
vestigation on an Al6061T6 alloy subjected to ballistic impact,”
Proc. Eng., 10, 3447 – 3452 (2011).
15. ASM Handbook: Heat Treating, ASM International, California.
(1991).
Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, (2000).
17. I. Dutta and S. M. Allen, “Calorimetric study of precipitation in
commercial Al alloys,” Mater. Sci. Lett., 10, 323 – 326 (1991).
18. J. Andersen, H. W. Zandergen, J. C. Jansen, et al., “The crystal
structure of the b² phase in Al – Mg – Si alloys,” Acta Mater.,
46, 3283 – 3298 (1998).
19. F. T. Chee and M. R. Said, “Effect of hardness test on precipita-
tion hardening aluminum alloy 6061-T6” Chiang. Mai. J. Sci.,
36, 276 – 286 (2009).
20. G. Mrowka, “Influence of chemical composition variation and
heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of
6xxx alloys,” Archive. Mater. Sci. Eng., 46, 98 – 107 (2010).
21. S. Imurai, J. Kajornchaiyakul, C. Thanachayanont, et al., “Age
hardening and precipitation behavior of an experimental cast
Al – Mg – Si alloy treated by T6 and T6I6 heat treatments,”
Chiang. Mai. J. Sci., 37, 269 – 281 (2010).
22. F. C. Campbell, in: Manufacturing Technology for Aerospace
Structural Materials, Elsevier Ltd. (2006).
23. F. Ozturk, E. Esener, S. Toros, and R. C. Pico, “Effects of aging
parameters on formability of 6061-O alloy,” Mater. Des., 31,
4847 – 4852 (2010).
24. ASTM E8/E8M-09. Standard test methods for tension testing of
metallic materials, USA, ASTM International, (2009).
25. Z. Nikseresht, F. Karimzadeh, M. A. Golozar, and M. Hei-
darbeigi, “Effect of heat treatment on microstructure and corro-
sion behavior of Al6061 alloy weldments,” Mater. Des., 31,
2643 – 2648 (2010).
26. I. M. Masoud, T. Abu Mansour, and J. A. Al Jarrah, “Effect of
heat treatment on the microstructure and hardening properties
of 6061 aluminum alloy,” J. Appl. Sci. Res., 10, 5106 – 5113
(2012).
27. S. H. Lee, Y. Saito, T. Sakai, and H. Utsunomiya, “Microstruc-
tures and mechanical properties of 6061 aluminum alloy pro-
cessed by accumulative roll-bonding,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 325,
228 – 235 (2002).
28. B. Hu and I. Richardson, “Microstructure and mechanical pro-
perties of AA7075(T6) hybrid laser/GMA welds,” Mater. Sci.
Eng. A, 459, 94 – 100 (2007).
29. A. A. Zadpoor, J. Sinke, and R. Benedictus “Fracture mecha-
nism of aluminum friction stir welded blanks,” Int. J. Mater. Fo-
rum, 2, 319 – 322 (2009).