Evaluation of Tensile Properties and Formability of Al 6061 Alloy Processed by Various Semi-solid Techniques

Three different semi-solid processes including conventional strain induced melt activation (SIMA), SIMA plus annealing, and a new two-stage SIMA (TSSIMA) were conducted on Al 6061 alloy and their effects on the microstructure, tensile strength, elongation, and formability of the alloy were investigated. The results showed that TSSIMA led to the most appropriate microstructure owing to grain refinement, the removal of the eutectic mixture, changing continuous precipitates to discontinuous ones, uniform distribution of the precipitates, and thin grain boundaries. These in turn led to the highest tensile strength and elongation in this sample. Moreover, the best formability was achieved in the sample processed by TSSIMA owing to the grain refinement and the removal of the eutectic mixture that occurred in this sample.