Aging Process during Creep Deformation in an Al-Mg-Si Alloy Affected by Pre-Aging Condition

Creep behavior of an Al-0.3%Mg-0.5%Si alloy affected by pre-aging condition was investigated to obtain fundamental knowledge on the thermal stability in the service temperature range for the precipitation-hardened aluminum heat-exchanger. The alloy was aged at 175 °C for 3 h (under-aged) and 24 h (peak-aged), after solution treatment, and then subjected to creep testing at temperatures of 150 °C and 200 °C. When the creep temperature was 150 °C, the under-aged (UA) specimen showed a lower creep rate than that of the peak-aged (PA) specimen. On the other hand, when the creep temperature was 200°C, both specimens showed almost the same creep rate. In other words, the UA specimen had higher creep resistance than the PA specimen at 150 °C, whereas this advantage disappeared at 200 °C. The difference was thought to originate from the precipitation during creep testing.