Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Analysis of Morphology in 7075 Aluminum

Author(s):

Frederick L Beyer and Daniel J Magagnosc

Abstract:

A small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) study of heat-treated aluminum (Al) alloy 7075 was performed. Samples were annealed for different periods of time, then characterized using SAXS. The microstructure contains two nanoscale precipitate types as confirmed via electron microscopy: roughly 5-nm precipitates produced during heat treatment and roughly 60-nm precipitates primarily generated during quenching. The size and number of the smaller precipitates were found to increase with annealing time, although annealing samples 4 h resulted in a drop in the volume fraction of small precipitates. This effort demonstrates the applicability of SAXS to heat-treatment development in Al alloys.