Modeling age hardening kinetics of an Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy

In this paper, an Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy was exposed to various heat treatment processes and the effect of precipitation hardening on hardness was investigated as a function of time and temperature. It was concluded that the variation in time and temperature can improve the hardness of the alloy. The work revealed that time and temperature play an important role in the precipitation hardening process of the alloy. To achieve the maximum hardness, an optimum aging cycle should be used which is heating at 180–190 °C for 15–18 h. Kinetics studies show an apparent activation energy of 58 kJ/mol. A relationship was derived which can be used to estimate the hardness at a given time and temperature. Moreover, a relationship was derived to estimate the maximum hardness, and the time to reach that maximum.