Performance of Thermo-Mechanically Processed AA7075 Alloy at Elevated Temperatures—From Microstructure to Mechanical Properties

This study focuses on the high temperature characteristics of thermo-mechanically processed AA7075 alloy. An integrated die forming process that combines solution heat treatment and hot forming at different temperatures was employed to process the AA7075 alloy. Low die temperature resulted in the fabrication of parts with higher strength, similar to that of T6 condition, while forming this alloy in the hot die led to the fabrication of more ductile parts. Isothermal uniaxial tensile tests in the temperature range of 200–400 °C and at strain rates ranging from 0.001–0.1 s−1 were performed on the as-received material, and on both the solution heat-treated and the thermo-mechanically processed parts to explore the impacts of deformation parameters on the mechanical behavior at elevated temperatures. Flow stress levels of AA7075 alloy in all processing states were shown to be strongly temperature- and strain-rate dependent. Results imply that thermo-mechanical parameters are very influential on the mechanical properties of the AA7075 alloy formed at elevated temperatures. Microstructural studies were conducted by utilizing optical microscopy and a scanning electron microscope to reveal the dominant softening mechanism and the level of grain growth at elevated temperatures.