The Effect of Precipitate Phases on Mechanical Properties of Al-Cu Alloys at Elevated Temperatures

The tensile deformation behaviors of the inoculated Al-Cu alloys were examined through uniaxial tensile tests conducted within a temperature range of (433-493) K and strain-rate range of (10⁻⁴-10⁻¹) s⁻¹. After tensile tests, an investigation was carried out to analyze the changes of the θ′ precipitate phases with deformation behaviors. The findings suggest that the growth of θ′ precipitates is inversely proportional to the strain rates or directly proportional to the deformation temperatures, leading to a decrease in work-hardening ability during plastic deformation and subsequently reduce the level of flow stress. Moreover, the deformation mechanism of the investigated Al-Cu alloy at elevated temperatures is controlled by dislocation creep.