Effect of aging in an electric field on microstructures and properties of 1420 Al-Li alloy

After solution treatment, the 1420 Al-Li alloy samples were aged at different temperatures in an electric field with different intensity. The measurements made showed that the electric field increased the strength of the 1420 Al-Li alloy, and best properties were obtained when they were aged at 120 ℃ with E=4 kV/cm for 12 hrs. The electric field promoted the nucleation of δ′ phase, increased the quantity of the δ′ phase, and made the size of the δ′ phase particles smaller. The electric field restrained the formation and growth of PFZ, and increased the intensity of the electric field while the width of the PFZ was decreased.