Water Quenching of Hot-Rolled Aluminum Strips: Process Integrated Heat Treatment of the Alloy EN AW-6082

Hot rolling of thin sheets of hardenable aluminum alloys with integrated quenching allows the coupling of both deformation and heat treatment into a single processing step, analogous to hot extrusion. However, unlike hot extrusion, hot rolling is performed in a lower temperature range as a result of material contact with the unheated forming tool during deformation. The influence of this type of processing on mechanical properties has rarely been studied. In the present work, the effect of the individual parameters of hot rolling with integrated heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of alloy EN AW-6082 has been studied. The results have been compared with similarly heat-treated unworked material. It has been revealed that hot rolling can cause the strength of the material to deteriorate after final natural and artificial aging, leading to a failure to fulfil the requirements of standards. Finally, recommendations for decreasing the above-mentioned negative influence have been proposed.