The influence of precipitation on plastic deformation in a high Mg-containing AlMgZn-based crossover alloy: Slip localization and strain hardening

The distribution and partitioning of solute atoms in age-hardenable aluminum (Al) alloys markedly impact strength, ductility and failure of alloy materials, thus rendering the understanding of dislocation-obstacle (solute-rich features) interactions crucial in the development of a new class of heat-treatable Al alloys. Here, we investigate the slip mechanisms, strain localization and strain hardening of a high Mg-content (≥ 6 wt.%) lightweight AlMgZn-based crossover alloy aged to different conditions with the focus on the dislocation-obstacle interactions. It is found that due to different elemental partitioning between matrix and solute-rich features the interaction of dislocations with obstacles can be drastically different for samples with varying precipitates. The dislocations in the under-aged and near peak-aged samples show predominantly planar slip, which produces strain localization. Whereas in the over-aged sample, gliding dislocations initially bend between adjacent precipitates lying in the slip planes, and subsequently surmount them by local cross slip processes, giving rise to homogeneous slip. Through analyzing the intrinsically different strain hardening ability and characterizing deformation-induced specific dislocation configurations in the solution-treated and aged samples, it is discovered that strain localization in the form of coarse slip bands induces strain hardening in the under-aged material. To understand the enhanced strain hardening observed in the under-aged sample, four key influencing factors are proposed. In addition, the predicted yield strengths for the solution-treated and artificially aged materials match well with those experimentally measured values. The experimental results demonstrated in the current study not only apply for the microstructure design of high-performance age-hardenable Al-based alloys, they also provide new insights into understanding of general precipitation-hardened metallic alloys.