Effects of cold rolling (CR) and annealing time on microstructure and mechanical properties of AA 5052 aluminum alloy

In this paper, the influences of cold rolling and annealing time on the microstructure and mechanical behaviors of AA 5052 aluminum alloy were investigated. An aluminum sheet was cold-rolled at room temperature at 15, 30, and 45 % rolling reduction. The 45 % cold-rolled sample was subsequently annealed at 370 °C for 2, 4, and 6 h. The microstructure was observed using optical microscopy whereas the mechanical behaviors were evaluated through hardness and tensile tests. It was found that the equiaxed grains are severely elongated along the rolling direction with increased rolling reduction. The hardness and strength increase significantly with an increase of rolling reduction but the ductility decreases. The annealing treatment reduces hardness and strength but improves the ductility.