Precipitation Hardening

PRECIPITATION HARDENING
 Also known as Age Hardening.

 It is a heat transfer process applied to malleable metals, such as
metal alloys, in order to strengthen them.
 This process produces uniformly dispersed particles within a metal's
grain structure that help hinder motion and thereby strengthen it.
Processes involved in Precipitation Hardening
• We heat the metal to a high temperature i.e. above
Solution
Treatment :
solvus temperature and treat it with a solution.
• Next, we quickly cool down the solution-soaked

Quenching :
metal.
• Finally, we heat the same metal to a medium temperature

Aging i.e. below solvus temperature and cool it quickly again
Metals Treated by Precipitation
• Aluminium: This is the most abundant metal in Earth's crust. It does not rust or magnetize, and it's used for many
products, from soda cans to vehicle bodies.
• Magnesium: Most magnesium is used in alloys, or metals that are made by combining two or more metal elements. Its
applications are vast, and it's widely used in major industries, including transportation, packaging, and construction.
• Nickel: Nickel can be used in everything from food preparation to building high-rise buildings and transportation
infrastructures.
• Titanium: This is a metal that's often found in alloys. It's used widely in the aerospace, military, and sporting goods
industries due to its strength, resistance to corrosion, and light weight.
• Stainless steels: These are actually alloys of iron and chromium that are resistant to corrosion.
• Aluminum-copper alloys
• Copper-beryllium alloys
• Copper-tin alloys
• Magnesium-aluminum alloys
• Certain ferrous alloys
2024 Aluminum Alloy
 2024 is heat-treatable aluminum alloy with copper as the primary alloying element.
 It is used in applications requiring high strength to weight ratio, as well as good fatigue resistance. Due to its
high strength and fatigue resistance, 2024 is widely used in aircraft structures.
 Chemical Composition-
Element Minimum % Maximum %
Silicon No min 0.5
Iron No min 0.5
Copper 3.8 4.8
Manganese 0.5 0.6
Magnesium 1.2 1.8
Chromium No min 0.1
Zinc No min 0.25
Titanium No min 0.15
Other elements No min 0.05 each
0.15 in total
Mechanical properties
• 2024-O: 2024-O temper aluminium has no heat treating. It has an

ultimate tensile strength of 140–210 MPa (21–30 ksi), and maximum yield
strength of no more than 97 MPa (14,000 psi). The material has elongation
(stretch before ultimate failure) of 10-25%, this is the allowable range per
applicable AMS specifications.
• 2024-T3: T3 temper 2024 sheet has an ultimate tensile strength of 400–
430 MPa (58–62 ksi) and yield strength of at least 270–280 MPa (39–40 ksi). It
has an elongation of 10-15%.
The mechanical properties • 2024-T4: Solution treated and naturally aged.
of 2024 depend greatly on • 2024-T5: Cooled from hot working and artificially aged (at elevated
the temper of the temperature)
material. • 2024-T351: T351 temper 2024 plate has an ultimate tensile strength of
470 MPa (68 ksi) and yield strength of 280 MPa (41 ksi). It has elongation of
20%.
Precipitation Hardening in 2024 Al
• Introduction:
 Materials can be hardened by inhibiting the motion of crystal defects called dislocations. In pure metals,
the presence of defects (such as vacancies, interstitials, dislocations and grain boundaries) can enhance
the strength.
 In single phase alloys, additional resistance to deformation may arise from the presence of foreign
atoms.
 In two-phase alloys, additional stress is needed to enable the dislocation to intersect the second-phase
particles. A finely dispersed precipitate may, therefore, strengthen the material. This phenomenon is
termed precipitation hardening.
Processes involved in Precipitation hardening of 2024
Al
1. Solution Treatment When the aluminum-copper alloy of less than 5 wt% copper is heated to a
temperature just above the solvus line, only one phase (α) is thermodynamically stable. Other solid
phases dissolve (disappear). This process is called solution treatment. The only requirement is that the
specimen must be kept at this temperature for a long enough time.
Treat a sample of 2024 Al (4 wt% Cu), the sample should be heated to 930°F (500°C) and held for 30
minutes.
2. Quenching When a solution treated sample is rapidly cooled (quenched) to below the solvus line
(Figure), two phases are thermodynamically stable (α and θ). These phases are two different solids,
physically distinct, and separated by a phase boundary. The process is similar to precipitation of salt in
supersaturated brine.
3. Aging The process of precipitation is not instantaneous, as is often the case in liquid-solid precipitation.
The process involves the formation of embryos of θ through thermal fluctuations and their subsequent
growth, once they achieve stability. With time, more and more precipitates form. This process is called
aging. Once the solution achieves an equilibrium composition given by the solvus line for the aging
temperature, precipitation stops
Binary Phase Diagram of Al 2024

Precipitation Hardening

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PRECIPITATION HARDENING

 Also known as Age Hardening.

• Next, we quickly cool down the solution-soaked

• Finally, we heat the same metal to a medium temperature

• 2024-O: 2024-O temper aluminium has no heat treating. It has an

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