Effects of heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a 6061 aluminium alloy

D. Maisonnette (1) , M. Suery (2) , D. Nelias (1) , P. Chaudet (1) , T. Epicier (3)

1 LaMCoS - Laboratoire de Mécanique des Contacts et des Structures [Villeurbanne]
2 SIMaP - Science et Ingénierie des Matériaux et Procédés
3 MATEIS - Matériaux, ingénierie et science [Villeurbanne]

This paper describes the mechanical behavior of the 6061-T6 aluminium alloy at room temperature for various previous thermal histories representative of an electron beam welding. A fast-heating device has been designed to control and apply thermal loadings on tensile specimens. Tensile tests show that the yield stress at ambient temperature decreases if the maximum temperature reached increases or if the heating rate decreases. This variation of the mechanical properties is the result of microstructural changes which have been observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Mots clés: Electron beam welding stress–strain curves; Thermomechanical properties; 6061 Aluminium alloy; Yield stress; Hardening precipitates; TEM; Transmission Electron Microscopy

Domaines: Matériaux

D. Maisonnette, M. Suery, D. Nelias, P. Chaudet, T. Epicier. Effects of heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a 6061 aluminium alloy. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2011, 528 (6), pp.2718-2724. ⟨10.1016/j.msea.2010.12.011⟩. ⟨hal-00633941⟩