Solutionization via Severe Plastic Deformation: Effect of Temperature and Quench Method in a ShAPE-Processed Al-Mg-Si Alloy

Shear-Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) is an advanced manufacturing technique that allows for many unique processes, and this work focuses on the ability of the ShAPE process to solutionize alloying elements by high-temperature severe plastic deformation, followed quickly by quenching, to skip a conventional solutionization heat treatment. Here, this solutionization during processing of an Al-Mg-Si alloy 6082 was studied using microhardness and microscopy. It was found that the plastic deformation increased the degree of solutionization at a given temperature, allowing for large supersaturations at temperatures well below conventional solutionization heat treatments. In addition, an air quench immediately after ShAPE processing was found to be fast enough to produce a good supersaturated solid solution in this alloy, and the as-artificially aged hardness was within specifications for a conventionally processed material that underwent a solutionization treatment followed by a water quench. This new processing pathway allows for high-quality material to be produced at a much lower energy cost.