Effect of Two-Stage Aging on Microstructure and Properties of Al-Mg-Si Alloys

The effects of two-stage aging on the microstructures, tensile properties and intergranular corrosion (IGC) sensitivity of Al-Mg-Si alloys were studied by tensile testing and IGC experiments and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that the two-stage aging (180°C, 2h+160°C, 120h) can reduce the IGC sensitivity without decrease the tensile properties. The grain is distributed with high-density β′′ phases, and the grain boundary phases are spherical and intermittently distributed. The formation of the microstructure characteristic is due to the lower re-aging temperature, which results in a decline differences in the diffusion rate between the matrix and grain boundaries. As a result, the pre-precipitated phase can maintain a better strengthening effects due to the slower growth rate. The pre-precipitated phase of the grain boundary presents a spherical and intermittent distribution due to the fast coarsening speed.