Effect of Pre-strain on the Solute Clustering, Mechanical Properties, and Work-Hardening of a Naturally Aged Al-Cu-Mg Alloy

The effect of pre-strain on the solute clustering, mechanical properties, and work-hardening of a naturally aged Al-Cu-Mg alloy was comprehensively investigated using a three-dimensional atom probe, electrical resistivity, and hardness measurements. The pre-strain promoted the rapid formation of solute clusters but suppressed the growth of solute clusters during prolonged aging. An increase in pre-strain caused a decrease in the saturated number density of solute clusters, leading to a reduction in cluster strengthening. By taking into account the coupling effect of solute clusters and pre-existing dislocations, models were proposed to address the yield strength and work-hardening behaviors of the Al-Cu-Mg alloy, respectively. It reveals that the solute-cluster strengthening is comparable to dislocation strengthening in the naturally aged alloy. However, the work hardening is not significantly affected by the presence of the solute clusters. The findings reported in this paper will be helpful for the development of a naturally aged Al-Cu-Mg alloy with improved performance by controlling the pre-strain.