Effects of heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a 6061 aluminium alloy

▶ Description of the mechanical behavior of AA6061-T6 at RT after various thermal histories. ▶ A fast-heating device has been designed to reproduce those thermal histories on tensile specimens. ▶ The thermal loadings are representative of the temperature change observed in the HAZ during welding. ▶ The variation of mechanical properties is the result of metallurgical evolution observed by TEM. ▶ The yield stress at RT decreases with the maximum temperature reached during the thermal cycle.