Enhancement of the Electrical Conductivity and Mechanical Properties of Al-Mg-Si and Al-Mg-Zn Ternary Systems After a T8 Heat Treatment

The present research focuses on enhancing the mechanical properties and the electrical conductivity of alloys corresponding to the Al-Mg-Zn (two different compositions) and Al-Mg-Si systems, compared with the commercial 6201-T8 and 1350-H16 alloys, by using a novel approach based on T8 tempering (solution heat treated, cold worked, then artificially aged). After T8 tempering, the Al-Mg-Zn and Al-Mg-Si alloy systems show a better combination of electrical and mechanical properties, with an enhancement of the electrical conductivity by about 2.8% compared to that of 1350 alloy and 13% higher than for the 6201 alloy series. All studied alloys exhibit better mechanical properties than 1350-H16 and are similar to those of 6201-T8.