Investigation of modulus hardening of various co-clusters in aged Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy by atom probe tomography

The modulus hardening capability of various co-clusters in a low Cu/Mg ratio Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy aged at 165 °C is investigated by quantitative atom probe tomography analysis. Prolonged aging from 5 min to 2 h leads to the simultaneous increase in the critical shear stress of both Mg-Ag and Cu-Mg co-clusters. Regardless of the higher shear modulus of Cu-Mg co-clusters, calculation results show that Mg-Ag co-clusters possess a greater modulus hardening capability than Cu-Mg co-clusters, suggesting its primary contribution to the rapid hardening at the early aging stage. As aging extends from 30 min to 2 h, the increment in the critical shear stress of Mg-Ag co-clusters is lower than that of Cu-Mg co-clusters due to the precipitation of high density Ω phase. In addition, the shear modulus of Mg-Ag co-clusters is generally independent on its size at each investigated condition.