Simultaneous improvement of strength, ductility and corrosion resistance of Al2024 alloy processed by cryoforging followed by ageing

The aim of the present study is to simultaneous improvement of strength and ductility as well as corrosion resistance of ultrafine grained 2024 Al-alloy processed by multiaxial cryoforging (MAF) and cryorolling followed by ageing. The evolution of ultrafine grained microstructure during MAF followed by ageing is investigated using optical and transmission electron microscopy. Both multiaxially forged (MAFed) and cryorolled (CRed) samples showed an improvement in yield strength (YS) with a corresponding decrease in the ductility. Aging treatment not only improved the YS, but also its ductility. Improvement in the ductility after ageing is confirmed by the fractography analysis. Corrosion resistance of the MAFed+aged samples found to be higher compared to that of the MAFed and coarse grained counterpart. The corrosion behavior has been analyzed in the light of open circuit potential (OCP), solutionizing, grain size and precipitation strengthening mechanisms. SEM images of the corroded samples also corroborated the corrosion test results.