Effects of the aging time and temperature on the microstructures and mechanical properties of 6082 aluminum alloy extrusions

The main task of this work was to study the effects of aging time and aging temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 6082 aluminum alloy extrusions. Artificial aging was performed on the alloy extrusions at the temperatures of 150, 175 and 200 degrees C for the aging times of 4, 8 and 12 h. The microstructure evolution of the aluminum alloy extrusions with increase of the aging time and temperature was investigated by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). For the purpose of how the aging process affected the mechanical properties, tensile tests were performed. The results showed that the optimum aging treatment was 175 degrees C/4 h. Under this condition, the tensile strength (Rm) and the yield strength (Rp) in the longitudinal direction of the extrusions reached the maximum value more than 350MPa and 320MPa, respectively, and the tensile elongation (A) was more than 15%.