Ductility of an Al-Cu alloy produced by the powder metallurgy route

The powder metallurgy route is used to produce bulk materials from rapidly solidified granules made of an Al-17wt.%Cu alloy. Different thermomechanical treatments are then investigated to improve the final ductility of the material. Channel-die (CD) forging experiments are performed at 500 degrees C. Eight consecutive runs with compression ratio of 70% are applied for the CD treatment. A bar is also extruded with a 40:1 ratio. The ductility after these treatments is assessed by means of the ring expansion test. CD compression at 500 OC and extrusion both increase the ductility, extrusion being more efficient.