An aluminum alloy （Al-Zn-Mg-Cu） subjected to deep cryogenic treatment （DCT） was systematically investigated. The results show that a DCT-induced phase transformation varies the microstructures and affects the mechanical properties of the Al alloy. Both Guinier-Preston （GP） zones and a metastableη′phase were observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The phenomenon of the second precipitation of the GP zones in samples subjected to DCT after being aged was observed. The viability of this phase transfor-mation was also demonstrated by first-principles calculations.
The effects of major alloy element contents of Zn, Mg, Cu in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys on the formation and evolution of intermetallic phases during casting, homogenization and solution treatment have been investigated through using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Experimental results showed that a relatively higher Zn content with lower Mg and Cu contents was beneficial to the formation of MgZn2 phase instead of the A12CuMg phase, which resulted in the unicity of the intermetallics in the A1 matrix, and that the MgZn2 phase was easier for diffusion and dissolution during homogenization and solution than the Al2CuMg phase. Additionally, the results of the first-principles calculations gave support for explaining the experimental phenomena. A larger absolute value of formation enthalpy and a smaller value of binding energy of the MgZn2 phase, as compared with the Al2CuMg phase, give it priority to precipitate during casting and make it easier to re-dissolve during homogenization and solution treatment. What＇s more, higher elastic constants with severe anisotropy of Young＇s modulus make undissolved blocks of AI^CuMg phase act as crack initiation, which degrade the perfor- mance of the materials.
LI ChunMeiCHEN ZhiQianZENG SuMinCHENG NanPuCHEN TianXiao
The elastic constants, elastic anisotropy index, and anisotropic fractional ratios of Ti4AlC3, Zr4AlC3, and Hf4AlC3 are studied by using a plane wave method based on density functional theory. All compounds are characterized by the elastic anisotropy index. The bond length, population, and hardness of the three compounds are calculated. The degrees of hardness are then compared. The minimum thermal conductivity at high temperature limitation in the propagation direction of [000l] （0001） is calculated by the acoustic wave velocity, which indicates that the thermal conductivity is also anisotropic. Finally, the electronic structures of the compounds are analyzed numerically. We show that the bonding of the M4AlC3 lattice exhibits mixed properties of covalent bonding, ionic bonding, and metallic bonding. Moreover, no energy gap is observed at the Fermi level, indicating that various compounds exhibit metallic conductivity at the ground state.
