LIQUID DYNAMIC COMPACTION OF ALUMINUM ALLOY-7150

Two spray deposited, high strength 7150 aluminum alloys, one with incr eased nominal levels of iron and silicon and the other of standard com position, were prepared by rapid solidification, liquid dynamic compac tion (LDC). Spray deposition for this study was done with a circular u ltrasonic gas atomization nozzle (USGA). The as-deposited materials sh owed high densities (96+/-3%) and fine (< 20mm) equiaxed microstructur es with very low alloy segregation and a very fine, uniform distributi on of excess phases, the predominant one being metastable Al6Fe. No el emental silicon, Mg2Si or any other excess phases were detected in the as-deposited alloys. The deposits were hot rolled for full densificat ion and further structural refinement, and were given standard T 6 tre atments prior to room temperature tensile testing. Results show that t he 7150 alloy with 0.5w/o Fe and 0.4w/o Si can be produced by LDC proc essing with excellent tensile properties: 0.2% YS.: 480 - 570MPa (68 - 81 ksi), UTS: 545 - 635MPa (78 - 91 ksi) and elongation: 10-14%, not w ithstanding the increased impurity levels.