Influence of Zn Content on Microstructures, Mechanical Properties and Stress Corrosion Behavior of AA5083 Aluminum Alloy

To enhance the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance, Zn was utilized as an alloy element to add in the AA5083 aluminum alloys. The effects of Zn content on the microstructures, mechanical properties and SCC resistance were systematically evaluated. The results demonstrate that in the studied range adding Zn can significantly improve the SCC resistance of the AA5083 alloys. This is related to the relatively low amount of continuous β (Al3Mg2) phase along grain boundary and the formation of Zn-containing phase such as Al5Mg11Zn4 phase. Based on the results, the optimal Zn content with respect to SCC resistance is approximately 0.50 wt.%. Further increasing Zn content results in coarse precipitates discontinuously distributed along grain boundaries.