MICROSTRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS IN LOW-DENSITY AL-LI-MG ALLOYS

The present article describes an investigation of the microstructure and tensile properties of cast Al-Li-Mg alloys with very low densities, in the range 2.3 to 2.4 Mg/m3. Low density is achieved by adding Li and Mg in excess of the solubility limit, which prevents subsequent dissolution of the Al2LiMg particles that form during solidification. A simple model developed during the course of this research allows prediction of the volume fraction of Al2LiMg and alloy density from alloy composition. The model was used to select two alloy compositions for detailed investigation: Al12Li6Mg and Al16Li8Mg. The microstructures of the cast alloys consist of coarse Al2LiMg particles embedded in an Al matrix containing Al3Li particles. Both alloys exhibit low tensile elongation in the as-cast condition. Additional processing steps were used to modify the microstructural characteristics thought to be responsible for the low tensile elongation of the as-cast alloys. The Al16Li8Mg alloy, with an Al2LiMg volume fraction of 0.25, does not exhibit increased tensile elongation as a result of processing, and the brittle nature of this material is attributed to the high volume fraction of the Al2LiMg phase. The Al12Li6Mg alloy, with an Al2LiMg volume fraction of 0.13, exhibits a remarkable increase in tensile elongation after extrusion, an effect attributed to fragmentation and dispersal of a three-dimensional (3-D) network of the intermetallic phase in the as-cast alloy.