j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4

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Original Article

Effects of co-addition of minor Sc and Zr on aging

precipitates and mechanical properties of
AleZneMgeCu alloys

Ji Ye a, Qinglin Pan b, Bing Liu b,*, Quan Hu c, Longfeng Qu b, Weiyi Wang b,

Xiangdong Wang d
a
Light Alloy Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha 411083, People's Republic of China
b
School of Material Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 411083, People's Republic of China
c
Guangdong Fenglu Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., Foshan 528100, People's Republic of China
d
Manufacturing Center, CRRC Times Electric Co., Ltd., Zhuzhou, 412001, People's Republic of China

article info abstract

Article history: An AleZneMgeCu alloy and an AleZneMgeCueSceZr alloy are used to study effects of co-
Received 12 November 2022 addition of minor Sc and Zr on aging precipitates and mechanical properties of AleZneMg
Accepted 21 December 2022 eCu alloys. After solid solution treatment, almost complete recrystallization occurs in the
Available online 27 December 2022 AleZneMgeCu alloy, while recrystallization is significantly inhibited in the AleZneMg
eCu-Sc-Zr alloy, with a recrystallization fraction of 12.6%. The AleZneMgeCueSceZr alloy
Keywords: has remarkably higher strength than the AleZneMgeCueSceZr alloy in the solid solution-
AleZneMgeCu alloy treated and water-quenched state, which is due to the Orwan strengthening of coherent
Recrystallization Al3(Sc, Zr) particles and the grain boundary strengthening for finer grains. At the aging
Al3(Sc, Zr) particles temperature of 120
C，the co-addition of Sc and Zr accelerates the nucleation and growth
Aging precipitates of h0 phases in the grain interior, allowing the aged AleZneMgeCueSceZr alloy to reach its
Strengthening peak strength earlier. At the aging temperature of 140
C, the aging precipitate strength-
ening effect is weaker for the AleZneMgeCueSceZr alloy than for the AleZneMgeCu alloy
because of the accelerated transformation from h0 phases to h phases and growth of h
phases in the grain interior.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

development of the aerospace industry, it is urgent to develop

1. Introduction
As the highest strength commercial aluminum alloys, 7000
series AleZneMgeCu alloys are predominantly used in the
aerospace industry, such as in the manufacturing of fuselage
aeronautic components [1e5]. Following the rapid
AleZneMgeCu alloys with higher service performance. In this
case, the addition of trace alloying elements, such as Sc, is an
effective means. The addition of Sc has been found to increase
the strength and toughness, improve corrosion resistance and
weldability of aluminum alloys, which is attributed to the
refinement of grains, inhibition of recrystallization and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: bingliu102@126.com (B. Liu).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2022.12.133
2238-7854/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4
particle strengthening caused by the formation of stable L12-
ordered Al3Sc particles [6e9]. Despite the many advantages of
Sc addition, Sc cannot be extensively used because of its high
price. Compared with adding Sc alone, co-addition of Sc and
Zr can reduce costs and provide equivalent or even enhanced
effects owing to the formation of more stable Al3(Sc, Zr) par-
ticles [10]. Zr can replace up to 50% of Sc atoms in Al3Sc par-
ticles, thereby forming Al3(Sc, Zr) particles [11e13]. Previous
studies have shown that the co-addition of Sc and Zr con-
tributes to AleZneMgeCu alloys in two main aspects: (1) grain
refinement due to the formation of primary Al3(Sc, Zr) parti-
cles during casting; (2) inhibition of recrystallization resulting
from the precipitation of secondary Al3(Sc, Zr) particles during
homogenization [14,15]. Deng et al. [15] systematically inves-
tigated effects of Sc and Zr microalloying on the microstruc-
ture and mechanical properties of AleZneMg alloys. Based on
their work, the addition of 0.10 wt% Sc and 0.10 wt% Zr did not
contribute to the grain refinement of ingots but effectively
inhibited recrystallization; the addition of 0.25 wt% Sc and
0.10 wt% Zr was very effective in refining the grain of ingots
and inhibiting recrystallization; the addition of 0.25 wt% Sc
and 0.10 wt% Zr increased the yield strength of the peak-aged
alloy by 96 MPa, which was associated with grain boundary
strengthening and Orowan strengthening of secondary Al3(Sc,
Zr) particles.
For AleZneMgeCu alloys, aging precipitates provide the
most significant strengthening effect. At the common tem-
perature (95
Ce180
C) of aging precipitation strengthening,
aging precipitates include GP zones, h0 and h phases [16,17].
Some reports suggest that Sc and Sc þ Zr additions to
AleZneMg alloys slow down the precipitation of h0 phases
somewhat [9], while some reports state that Sc additions
significantly speed up the precipitation of h0 phases [18], and
others believe that the addition of Sc has no effect on the
precipitation behavior of h0 phases [15]. It seems that the ef-
fects of Sc or Sc þ Zr additions on aging precipitates are un-
certain, and more studies should be conducted on the effects
of Sc or Sc þ Zr additions on aging precipitates.
In this work, the effects of co-addition of minor Sc and Zr
on aging precipitates and mechanical properties are investi-
gated by electrical conductivity, hardness, tensile property
measurements and microstructure observations. Moreover,
the influential mechanism for the co-addition of minor Sc and
Zr on the aging precipitates is discussed.
2. Experimental
In this work, an AleZneMgeCu alloy (alloy #1) and an
AleZneMgeCu-Sc-Zr alloy (alloy #2) were used. The chemical
composition of the two alloys is listed in Table 1. After the same
process, including semi-continuous casting, homogenization
Table 1 e Chemical composition (wt.%) of the studied
alloys.
Alloy Al Zn Mg Cu Mn Sc
#1 Balance 5.77 2.07 0.27 0.30 e e
#2 Balance 5.73 2.09 0.28 0.30 0.12
2945
at 470
C for 24 h, hot rolling and cold rolling, sheets of the two
alloys were prepared with a thickness of 2 mm. Block speci-
mens with dimensions of 15 mm  15 mm  2 mm and tensile
specimens were cut from the sheets. The cutting method was
wire electro-discharge machining, which had the advantage of
easily satisfying the geometric and dimensional requirements
of the specimens with little effect on the mechanical properties
[19]. The length direction of the tensile specimens is parallel to
the rolling direction, and a schematic diagram of the tensile
specimen is shown in Fig. 1. These specimens were solid
solution-treated at 470
C for 1 h, immediately water-
quenched, and then aged at 120
C and 140
C for 0e48 h,
respectively.
The block specimens were used for electrical conductivity
and hardness measurements. The electrical conductivity and
hardness measurements were performed on a D60 K digital
metal conductivity tester and a Wolpert 401MVD micro-
Vickers hardness tester, respectively. At least three hardness
measurements were conducted for each specimen. Tensile
properties were measured on a MTS-858 tester with a
stretching speed of 2 mm/min, and three tensile specimens
were prepared for each state. The microstructure of the
specimens was studied by a LECIA DFC295 optical microscope
(OM), a JSM-7900 F scanning electron microscope (SEM) with
an electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) detector, and a
TECNAI G2 F20 transmission electron microscope (TEM). The
specimens for OM observations were mechanically polished
and anodically coated in a mixture of 30 mL HBF4 and
200 mL H2O. The specimens for TEM and EBSD observations
were first mechanically thinned below 80 mm and then pre-
pared by twin-jet electropolishing in a mixture of 30 vol%
HNO3 and 70 vol% CH3OH below 25
C.
3. Results
3.1. Electrical conductivity, hardness and tensile
properties
Fig. 2 shows the electrical conductivity and hardness of alloys
#1 and #2 with different aging treatment. As shown in Fig. 2a,
the electrical conductivity increases with the aging time at
120
C and 140
C for both alloys #1 and #2. The electrical
conductivity is higher for the alloy #2 than for the alloy #1 in
the same aged state, where at 140
C the electrical conduc-
tivity for the alloy #2 is significantly higher than that for the
alloy #1. In the case of the alloy #1, the hardness increases
with the aging time at 120
C within 48 h, while at 140
C, the
hardness reaches a maximum after aging for 24 h. In the case
Zr
0.11
Fig. 1 e A schematic diagram of the tensile specimen (mm).
2946 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4

Fig. 2 e Electrical conductivity and hardness of alloys #1 and #2 with different aging treatment: (a) electrical conductivity; (b)
hardness.

of the alloy #2, the hardness peaks at both 120
C and 140
C
after 24 h of aging (Fig. 2b).
Fig. 3 shows the tensile properties of alloys #1 and #2 with
different aging treatment. It can be seen that the alloy #2 has
higher Rm (ultimate tensile strength) and Rp (yield strength)
but lower A (elongation) than the alloy #1 in the same aged
state. For the alloy #2, the maximum Rm and Rp at 120
C and
140
C are obtained after aging for 24 h. For the alloy #1, the
peaks of Rm and Rp cannot be observed within 48 h at 120
C,
while the peaks of Rm and Rp are obtained after aging treat-
ment at 140
C for 36 h. In addition, it can be found that the
alloy #2 has higher strength but lower hardness than the alloy
#1 after the same duration of aging treatment at 140
C (Figs. 2
and 3). This suggests that the relationship between hardness
and strength is not always linear [20], and the Rp data in Fig. 3b
are used for subsequent discussion.
3.2. Microstructure
Fig. 4 shows the OM images of alloys #1 and #2 in different
states. As shown in Fig. 4a and b, both cold-rolled alloys #1 and
#2 exhibit the fibrous structure along rolling direction. The OM

Fig. 3 e Tensile properties of alloys #1 and #2 with different aging treatment: (a) Rm (ultimate tensile strength); (b) Rp (yield
strength); (c) A (elongation).
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4 2947

Fig. 5 e Recrystallization maps of solid solution-treated

and water-quenched alloys #1 and #2: (a) solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloy #1; (b) solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloy #2.

Fig. 6 displays the TEM images of the solid solution-treated

Fig. 4 e OM images of the alloy #1 in different states: (a)
cold-rolled; (c) solid solution-treated and water-quenched;
(e) aged at 140
C for 48 h. OM images of the alloy #2 in
different states: (b) cold-rolled; (d) solid solution-treated
and water-quenched; (f) aged at 140
C for 48 h (RD, rolling
direction; ND, normal direction).
and water-quenched alloys #1 and #2. As shown in Fig. 6a and
b, the grain size of the solid solution-treated and water-
quenched alloy #1 is obviously larger than the grain or sub-
grain size of the solid solution-treated and water-quenched
alloy #2, which agrees with the EBSD result. In addition,
some dislocations are visible in solid solution-treated and
water-quenched alloy #2 (Fig. 6b), while almost no disloca-
tions are observed in the solid solution-treated and water-
quenched alloy #1 (Fig. 6a). According to Fig. 6c, a large num-
ber of horseshoe-shaped particles are uniformly distributed in
the grain interior of the solid solution-treated and water-
quenched alloy #2. Based on the diffraction spots at 1/2 of
{220} in the <112>Al SADP (selected area diffraction pattern),

structure for the solid solution-treated and water-quenched

alloy #1 and the aged alloy #1 is composed of a large quan-
tity of equiaxed grains (Fig. 4c and e), while the solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloy #2 and the aged alloy #2 still
remain the fibrous structure along rolling direction (Fig. 4d
and f).
Fig. 5 shows the recrystallization maps of solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloys #1 and #2. A large num-
ber of recrystallized grains are evident in the solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloy #1, while subgrains and
deformed grains are hardly visible. For the solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloy #2, the grain structure
mainly includes a large quantity of subgrains and a few
recrystallized grains. The recrystallized fraction obtained by
HKL Channel 5 software is 99.8% for the alloy #1 and 12.6% for
the alloy #2. In addition, more low angle grain boundaries and
less high angle grain boundaries can be observed in the solid
solution-treated and water-quenched alloy #2. In the case of
solid solution-treated and water-quenched alloy #1, the frac-
tion is 18.0% for low angle grain boundaries and 82.0% for high
angle grain boundaries. In the case of the solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloy #2, the fractions for low
angle grain boundaries and high angle grain boundaries are
74.8% and 25.2%, respectively. The mean grain diameter is Fig. 6 e TEM images of the solid solution-treated and
8.6 mm for the solid solution-treated and water-quenched water-quenched alloys #1 and #2: (a) a bright-field image of
alloy #1 and 1.9 mm for the solid solution-treated and water- the alloy #1; (b, c) bright-field images of the alloy #2; (d) a
quenched alloy #2. selected area diffraction pattern (SADP) of the alloy #2.
2948 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4
these horseshoe-shaped particles are identified as Al3(Sc, Zr)
particles. The no-contrast lines (Ashby-Brown contrast) for
the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles in the bright-field image indicate the
coherency between the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles and Al matrix [21].
These coherent Al3(Sc, Zr) particles precipitate during ho-
mogenization with high thermal stability and can effectively
pin dislocations and grain boundaries, thus hindering grain
boundary migration, inhibiting recrystallization and refining
grains [15,22,23].
Fig. 7 exhibits the TEM images for precipitates in the grain
interior of alloys #1 and #2 after aging at 120
C and 140
C for
24 h. As shown in Fig. 7a, a high density of fine precipitates can
be found in the grain interior of the alloy #1 after aging at
120
C for 24 h. These fine precipitates with a size of
3.3 ± 0.6 nm are formed during aging. The streaks along {111}
direction at 1/3 and 2/3 of {220} in the <112>Al SADP and the
diffraction spots at 2/3 of {220} in the <001>Al SADP indicate
that these fine precipitates are mainly h0 phases (Fig. 8a and b)
[24,25]. In addition, the weaker diffraction spot at {1,7/4,0} in
the <001>Al SADP is visible, which suggests the presence of a
few GPI zones [26]. For the alloy #1 after aging at 140
C for 24 h,
the streaks from h0 phases are still evident (Fig. 8c); however,
the density of the aging-induced precipitates decreases
significantly and their size increases to 4.7 ± 0.8 nm (Fig. 7b).
Similarly, the aging-induced precipitates in the grain interior
of the alloy #2 after aging at 120
C for 24 h include major h0
phases and minor GPI zones (Fig. 8d and e); as the aging
temperature increases, the size of aging-induced precipitates
in the grain interior increases from 3.6 ± 0.6 nm to 6.3 ± 0.9 nm
(Fig. 7c and d), and the intensity of streaks from h0 phases
becomes noticeably weaker (Fig. 8f).
Fig. 7 e TEM images for precipitates in the grain interior of
the alloy #1 after (a) aging at 120
C for 24 h and (b) aging at
140
C for 24 h. TEM images for the precipitates in the grain
interior of the alloy #2 after (c) aging at 120
C for 24 h and
(d) aging at 140
C for 24 h.
Fig. 9 exhibits the TEM images for precipitates at grain
boundaries of alloys #1 and #2 after aging at 120
C and 140
C
for 24 h. The aging-induced precipitates at grain boundaries
are evident in the alloy #1 after aging at 120
C for 24 h and
aging at 140
C for 24 h, and the precipitates at grain bound-
aries after aging at 140
C for 24 h have clearly larger sizes than
those after aging at 120
C for 24 h. These aging-induced
precipitates at grain boundaries are stable h phases. The size
of aging-induced precipitates at boundaries is much smaller
for the alloy #2 than for the alloy #1 in the same aged state.
Furthermore, some obvious dislocations and Al3(Sc, Zr) par-
ticles can be observed at or near grain boundaries in the alloy
#2 (Fig. 9c and d).
4. Discussion
4.1. Effect of co-addition of Sc and Zr on the mechanical
properties of solid solution-treated and water-quenched
alloys
The mechanical properties of solid solution-treated and
water-quenched alloys #1 and #2 are listed in Table 2. Ac-
cording to Table 2, the solid solution-treated and water-
quenched alloy #2 has higher hardness, Rm and Rp but lower
A than the solid solution-treated and water-quenched alloy
#1, where the increments of Rm and Rp are 49 MPa and 51 MPa,
respectively.
In the case of metallic materials, the strengthening
mechanisms include solid solution strengthening, precipitate
strengthening, grain boundary strengthening and dislocation
strengthening. Assuming that the contribution of each
strengthening mechanism is independent, the total yield
strength (Rp(total)) of the experimental alloy can be expressed
by Eq. (1):
RP ðtotalÞ ¼ RP ðaÞ þ RP ðssÞ þ RP ðpreÞþRP ðgbÞ þ RP ðdisÞ (1)
where Rp(a) is the yield strength of pure aluminum, which can
be considered as a constant; Rp(ss) is the yield strength
contributed by solid solution strengthening; Rp(pre) is the
yield strength contributed by precipitate strengthening;
Rp(dis) is the yield strength contributed by dislocation
strengthening.
After solid solution treatment and water quenching, the
alloy #1 is mainly composed of supersaturated Al solid solu-
tion, in which almost all elements are solidly dissolved; while
the alloy #2 mainly consists of supersaturated Al solid solu-
tion and secondary Al3(Sc, Zr) particles precipitated during
homogenization. The composition of the two alloys is almost
the same except for Sc and Zr elements, and concentrations of
Sc and Zr (0.075 at.% and 0.034 at.%, respectively) are very low
in the alloy #2; moreover, most of the Sc and Zr elements have
already precipitated during homogenization due to their low
solid solubility in Al [9,27,28], and therefore the solid solution
strengthening effect of the two alloys can be regarded as
comparable. In addition, due to a significant reduction in
dislocation density caused by recrystallization and reversion
that occur during solid solution, only a small fraction of
obvious dislocations can be found in the solid solution-treated
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4
Fig. 8 e SADPs for precipitates in the grain interior of the alloy #1 after (a, b) aging at 120
C for 24 h and (c) aging at 140
C for
24 h. SADPs for precipitates in the grain interior of the alloy #2 after (d, e) aging at 120
C for 24 h and (f) aging at 140
C for
24 h.
and water-quenched alloy #2. Based on this, the dislocation
strengthening effect is not taken into account in the present
work. Therefore, the RP increment of the solid solution-treated
and water-quenched alloy #2 relative to the solid solution-
Fig. 9 e TEM images for precipitates at grain boundaries of
the alloy #1 after (a) aging at 120
C for 24 h and (b) aging at
140
C for 24 h. TEM images of precipitates at grain
boundaries of the alloy #2 after (c) aging at 120
C for 24 h
and (d) aging at 140
C for 24 h.
2949
treated and water-quenched alloy #1 depends on the precip-
itate strengthening and grain boundary strengthening.
Based on the interaction between precipitates and dislo-
cations, the precipitate strengthening mechanism can be
divided into two mechanisms: (1) the mechanism of fine
precipitation sheared by dislocations, which involves order
strengthening, coherency strengthening and modulus
mismatch strengthening; (2) the Orowan dislocation bypass
mechanism for larger precipitates. The Orowan mechanism
operates when the precipitate cannot be sheared by disloca-
tions. Previous literature has shown that the strengthening
mechanism changes from a shearing mechanism to an Oro-
wan mechanism when the diameter of Al3Sc in binary AleSc
alloys exceeds 4e6 nm [4,29,30]. The diameter of Al3(Sc, Zr)
particles in Fig. 6c is 23 ± 4 nm; therefore, the Orowan
mechanism is believed to be responsible for the Al3(Sc, Zr)
particle strengthening in the present work. The yield strength
contributed by the Orowan mechanism (Rp(pre-o)) can be
calculated as follows [31]:
0:4MGb  pr 
Rp ðpre  oÞ ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ln (2)
pl 1  n 2b
where M is the Taylor factor, M ¼ 3.06; G is the shear modulus
of the Al matrix, G ¼ 25.4 GPa; b is the Burgers vector of the
dislocation in Al, b ¼ 0.286 nm; n is the Poisson ratio for Al,
n ¼ 0.34; l is the interspacing of precipitates, and r is the mean
radius of precipitates. The l can be obtained by Eq. (3) [31].
rffiffiffiffiffiffi !
2p p
l¼  r (3)
3f 2
2950 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4

approximately 2.9  1020 m3 and 0.2%, respectively. There-

Table 2 e Mechanical properties of solid solution-treated
fore, the yield strength contributed by Al3(Sc, Zr) particle
and water-quenched alloys #1 and #2.
strengthening in the alloy #2 is approximately 41 MPa ac-
Alloy Hardness/HV Rm/MPa Rp/MPa A/%
cording to Eqs. (2) and (3).
#1 62.6 ± 0.7 270 ± 2 135 ± 1 27.1 ± 0.1 The HallePetch equation, Eq. (4), is commonly used to es-
#2 81.4 ± 1.2 319 ± 1 186 ± 5 21.6 ± 0.2 timate the yield strength contributed by grain boundary
strengthening (RP(h-p)).

where f is the volume fraction of precipitates. In the present 1=2

RP ðh  pÞ ¼ s0 þ kd (4)
work, the mean radius, the number density and the volume
fraction of the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles are estimated from TEM where s0 and k are material-dependent constants and d is the
images with magnifications of 195000e380000. Assuming that mean grain size [32,33]. s0 is the lattice friction stress required
the thickness of the TEM foil is 100 nm and that the Al3(Sc, Zr) to move individual dislocations, and k is the HallePetch slope.
particles observed in the TEM images are isolated without For Al, s0 are approximately 20 MPa and k ¼ 0.04 MPa m1/2
overlap, the number density of the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles can be [34,35]. In the present work, the increment in yield strength
roughly estimated, and the volume fraction is the product of due to the grain boundary strengthening (DRP (h-p)) is given as
the number density and the mean volume of Al3(Sc, Zr) par- follows:
ticles. This method is also used for the subsequent estimation
of the number density and the volume fraction of aging pre-  1 
2 12
DRp ðh  pÞ ¼ k dalloy #2  dalloy #1 (5)
cipitates in the grain interior. The mean radius (r) of the Al3(Sc,
Zr) particles is approximately 11.5 nm, and the number den-
sity and the volume fraction (f) of the Al3(Sc, Zr) particles are Substituting the k value and the mean grain sizes (8.6 mm

Fig. 10 e TEM images for the precipitates in the grain interior of the alloy #1 after aging at 120
C for (a) 4 h and (b) 48 h and
after aging at 140
C for (c) 4 h and (g) 48 h. TEM images for the precipitates in the grain interior of the alloy #2 after aging at
120
C for (d) 4 h and (e) 48 h and after aging at 140
C for (f) 4 h and (g) 48 h.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4 2951

Fig. 11 e Sizes (equivalent circle diameters), number density and volume fractions of aging precipitates in the grain interior
of alloys #1 and #2 with different aging treatment: (a) sizes (equivalent circle diameters); (b) number density; (c) volume
fractions.

for the alloy #1 and 1.9 mm for the alloy #2) of the two alloys,
DRp(h-p) of approximately 15 MPa is obtained.
Therefore, in the case of the solid solution-treated and
water-quenched alloys, the calculated Rp increment due to the
co-addition of Sc and Zr is approximately 56 MPa, which is in
general agreement with the experimental result (51 MPa).
4.2. Effect of co-addition of Sc and Zr on the precipitation
behavior during aging
To further determine the effect of co-addition of Sc and Zr on
the precipitation behavior during aging, the TEM microstruc-
ture of the two alloys after aging at 120
C and 140
C for
different times is also studied. Fig. 10 shows the TEM images for
precipitates in the grain interior of alloys #1 and #2 after aging
at 120
C and 140
C for 4 h and 48 h, and the sizes (equivalent
circle diameters) of aging precipitates measured from the TEM
images are given in Fig. 11. As shown in Figs. 7 and 10 and 11,
the size of the aging precipitates in the grain interior of the two
alloys increases with the time and temperature, and the size of
the aging precipitates in the grain interior is larger for the alloy
#2 than for the alloy #1 in the same aged state, which is more
pronounced at higher temperatures and for longer times. This
suggests a faster nucleation and growth rate of the aging pre-
cipitates in the grain interior of alloy #2, which should be
related to the dislocation density in the grain interior of the
alloy #1 and the alloy #2. Due to the almost complete recrys-
tallization of the alloy #1 after solid solution treatment, the
dislocation density in the grain interior is very low. Because of
the pinning effect of the coherent Al3(Sc, Zr) particles, a rela-
tively high density of dislocations are retained in the grain
interior of the alloy #2 after solid solution treatment. These
retained dislocations can serve as preferential nucleation sites
for aging precipitates, accelerating the nucleation and growth
of the aging precipitates [18].
Fig. 12 shows the TEM images for precipitates at grain
boundaries of alloys #1 and #2 after aging at 120
C and 140
C
for 4 h and 48 h. It is evident that the size of the aging pre-
cipitates at grain boundaries of the two alloys also increases
with the time and temperature, but the size of the aging pre-
cipitates at grain boundaries is smaller for the alloy #2 than for
the alloy #1 in the same aged state. This is because almost
complete recrystallization occurs in the alloy #1, where the
grain boundaries are mainly high angle grain boundaries;
while the coherent Al3(Sc, Zr) particles significantly inhibit
recrystallization in the alloy #2, where the grain boundaries
are mostly low angle grain boundaries. The aging precipitates
prefer to nucleate and grow at high angle grain boundaries
rather than at low angle boundaries owing to the higher free
energy of the high angle grain boundaries [36].
2952 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4

Fig. 12 e TEM images for the precipitates at grain boundaries of the alloy #1 after aging at 120
C for (a) 4 h and (b) 48 h and
after aging at 140
C for (c) 4 h and (g) 48 h. TEM images for the precipitates at grain boundaries of the alloy #2 after aging at
120
C for (d) 4 h and (e) 48 h and after aging at 140
C for (f) 4 h and (g) 48 h.

4.3. Effect of co-addition of Sc and Zr on the mechanical

properties of aged alloys

Based on Fig. 3b, the Rp increments (DRP) of the alloy #2 rela-

tive to the alloy #1 in the same aged state are shown in Fig. 13.
When the aging temperature is 120
C, the DRP increases and
then decreases with the time, with the DRP ranging from
50 MPa to 72 MPa. When the aging temperature is 140
C, the
DRP decreases with time, and the DRP ranges from 15 MPa to
41 MPa.
For the aged alloy #1, the main strengthening mechanisms
are grain boundary strengthening and aging precipitate
strengthening, and for the aged alloy #2, the main strength-
ening mechanisms include Orowan strengthening from
Al3(Sc, Zr) particles, grain boundary strengthening and aging
precipitate strengthening. Therefore, the DRP of the aged alloy
#2 relative to the aged alloy #1 is associated with the Orowan
strengthening of Al3(Sc, Zr) particles, grain boundary
strengthening and aging precipitate strengthening. In the Fig. 13 e Rp increments (DRP) of the alloy #2 relative to the
present work, the grain structure of the aged alloys remains alloy #1 in the same aged state.
 j o u r n a l o f m a t e r i a l s r e s e a r c h a n d t e c h n o l o g y 2 0 2 3 ; 2 2 : 2 9 4 4 e2 9 5 4
almost unchanged compared to that of the solid solution-
treated and water-quenched alloys (Fig. 4), which indicates
that aging has no effect on the grain structure. Furthermore,
since most of the Sc and Zr have precipitated during homog-
enization and the diffusivity of Zr and Sc in Al is very low at
the aging temperatures [4], the size and distribution of Al3(Sc,
Zr) particles are considered to be constant during aging.
Therefore, the DRP of the aged alloy #2 relative to the aged
alloy #1 due to the Orowan strengthening of Al3(Sc, Zr) parti-
cles and grain boundary strengthening is still 51 MPa. Based
on this, it can be concluded that the aging precipitate
strengthening is stronger at 120
C but weaker at 140
C for the
aged alloy #2 than for the aged alloy #1. This can be explained
by the composition of aging precipitates and their sizes and
volume fractions at different aging temperatures.
The usual precipitation sequence of AleZneMgeCu alloys
during aging can be described as [24]: supersaturated solid
solution/ coherent GP zones/ semi coherent h0 / inco-
herent h, where the coherent GP zones and semi coherent h0 ,
especially the h0 , are believed to responsible for aging
strengthening [26,37]. Due to the relatively small size, the
main strengthening mechanism for coherent GP zones and
semi coherent h0 precipitates should be the shearing mecha-
nism [38]; whereas Orowan bypass mechanism is responsible
for the incoherent h precipitate strengthening because of the
relatively large size [39]. In the case of the shearing mecha-
nism, the strengthening effect increases with the size and
volume fraction of precipitates. In the case of the Orowan
bypass mechanism, the strengthening effect increases with
the increasing volume fraction of precipitates but decrease
with the increasing size of precipitates, and the size of pre-
cipitates has a more important effect on the strengthening
effect. As shown in Fig. 11, the volume fraction of aging pre-
cipitates increases with the aging time and temperature for
both alloys, and the alloy #2 has a higher volume fraction of
aging precipitates than the alloy #1 in the same aged state.
When the aging temperature is 120
C, the main aging pre-
cipitates are h0 phases for the two alloys. For the alloy #1, the
size and volume fraction of the h0 phases increase with the
aging time within 48 h at 120
C, and therefore the strength
increases with the aging time within 48 h at 120
C. Because
the dislocations retained by Al3(Sc, Zr) particles accelerate the
nucleation and growth of h0 phases, the alloy #2 gains its peak
strength after aging for 24 h at 120
C; as the aging continues,
h0 phases transform to h phases and the strengthening
mechanism changes from to a shearing mechanism to an
Orwan bypass mechanism, resulting in a decrease in strength.
Due to the higher size and volume fraction of the h0 phases in
the same aged state, the aging precipitate strengthening is
stronger at 120
C for the alloy #2 than for the alloy #1. When
the aging temperature is 140
C, the main aging precipitates
are h0 and h phases for the two alloys. At the aging tempera-
ture of 140
C, the dislocations retained by Al3(Sc, Zr) particles
accelerate the transformation from h0 phases to h phases and
the growth and coarsening of h phases in the alloy #2,
resulting in a weaker aging precipitate strengthening effect for
the alloy #2 compared to the alloy #1.
2953
5. Conclusions
(1) Due to the pinning effect of coherent Al3(Sc, Zr) parti-
cles, the co-addition of minor Sc and Zr significantly
inhibits the recrystallization during solid solution
treatment, leading to finer grains and relatively high
dislocation density in the AleZneMgeCu-Sc-Zr alloy
after solid solution treatment.
(2) The co-addition of minor Sc and Zr improves the
strength of the solid solution-treated and water-
quenched AleZneMgeCu alloy, which is due to the
Orwan strengthening of Al3(Sc, Zr) particles and the
grain boundary strengthening for finer grains.
(3) The size of the aging precipitates at grain boundaries is
smaller for the AleZneMgeCu-Sc-Zr alloy than for the
AleZneMgeCu alloy because of the lower misorientation
angle of grain boundaries in the AleZneMgeCu-Sc-Zr
alloy.
(4) The dislocations retained by Al3(Sc, Zr) particles accel-
erate the nucleation and growth of h0 phases in the grain
interior at the aging temperature of 120
C, allowing the
AleZneMgeCu-Sc-Zr alloy to reach peak strength earlier.
Due to the accelerated nucleation and growth of h phases
in the grain interior of the AleZneMgeCu-Sc-Zr alloy at
the aging temperature of 140
C, the aging precipitate
strengthening effect is weaker for the AleZneMgeCu-Sc-
Zr alloy than for the AleZneMgeCu alloy.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Key-Area Research and
Development Program of Guangdong Province (2020B0
10186002).
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