Studies on the Work-Hardening Behavior of AA2219 under Different Aging Treatments

Uniaxial tensile tests were performed to examine the influence of the precipitation state on the yield strength and work-hardening behavior of AA2219 for different aging treatments. The microstructural observations in four aging treatments (viz. natural aging, underaging, peak aging, and overaging) were made through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to understand the type of phase or intermediate stages of the phase present (Guinier–Preston (GP) zones, θ″, θ′, and θ). To characterize the work-hardening behavior, the analysis of the experimental results has focused on two parameters, viz. the initial work-hardening rate Θ_max (≡dσ/dε) and the slope (dΘ/dσ) of the Θ-σ plot, which is related to the rate of dynamic recovery. The initial work-hardening rate (Θ_max) first drops as aging proceeds and then increases significantly upon overaging. The large increase in Θ_max is also associated with a concomitant increase in the slope (dΘ/dσ) of the Θ-σ curve. The material constants in the differential equation for the dislocation density are evaluated and flow stress vs plastic strain curves are generated using the flow stress contributions from the solid-solution, dislocation, and precipitation hardening. The model predictions are found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental data for a range of precipitation states from underaged (UA) to overaged (OA) conditions. Curves of flow stress due to dislocation hardening with the plastic strain were also generated in the presence of shearable and nonshearable precipitates.