Strain Hardening in Dilute Binary Al-Cu, Al-Zn, and Al-Mn Alloys: Experiment and Modeling

During thermo-mechanical processing, dissolved alloying elements have a huge impact on the microstructure evolution by influencing the overall dislocation storage rate. Especially, for non-heat treatable Al alloys, the effects of strain-hardening and solid solution strengthening are of significant practical interest. In the present work, a detailed study of the room temperature work-hardening behavior of binary Al-Cu, Al-Zn, and Al-Mn alloys with varying solute concentrations is carried out. Stress-strain curves at different strain rates are recorded and computationally analyzed by an advanced 3-Internal-Variables-Model (3IVM) approach for the dislocation density evolution. The initial strengthening rate is examined as a function of the solute concentration.