Effect of aging on the plane stress/plane strain behavior of aluminum-lithium 2090 alloy

Compared to steel, high strength aluminum alloys have been widely used in aircraft and aerospace applications because of the higher strength ratio (strength/density) and higher rigidity ratio (rigidity/density) they possess. However, a demand has been seen lately for materials which perform better, and this had led to several attempts in the application of titanium alloys and composite materials as alternative sources of conventional alloys. Under such current conditions, a spotlight has been shed on Al-Li alloys as new aluminum alloys which can compete with these new materials. Al-Li 2090 is one of the commercial alloys that is not fully into practical uses due to lack of characterization.; In the research presented here, an Al-Li 2090 alloy is investigated under different microstructural conditions. The main goal of this research program was oriented towards the analysis of the understanding of the effects of aging time on the mechanical properties of Al-Li 2090 alloy under plane stress/plane strain conditions. The fracture behavior of the material and the surface morphology evolution with different aging times during tensile testing was studied.; The precipitates formed during the aging process increased hardness and fracture strength and had detrimental effect in ductility with increasing aging time at a constant temperature. Also, the work hardening behavior of the material is described using a simple power law. This research provides new knowledge about the alloy that will result in a better understanding of the material characteristics and properties and hence in a significant reduction in testing time and cost in its manufacturing and processing.