Effect of microarc discharge surface treatment on the tensile properties of Al-Cu-Mg alloy

A thick ceramic coating was prepared on Al-Cu-Mg alloy by microarc discharge in aqueous solution. The tensile properties of the alloy before and after microarc oxidation (MAO) surface treatment were tested, then the firactography and morphology of ceramic oxide coatings were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is showed that the tensile properties of aluminum alloy have smaller change after the alloy has undergone microarc discharge treatment. For all specimens with different thickness coatings, the decreases of yield strength, tensile strength and elastic modulus are less than 5%, and the contraction of area rises while the elongation slightly decreases. After the coatings are polished, the tensile properties of the alloy are improved rather small. The surface of tensile specimens uniformly remains a large quantity of tiny fragments of alumina coatings. That implies that the ceramic coating has good adhesion with aluminum alloy substrate. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.