Effect of heat treatment on the absorbed energy in a 5083 aluminum alloy

Effect of heat treatment on the Charpy impact and tensile properties in a 5083 aluminum alloy was investigated at 77K. Specimens were aged at 473K for 0.5 to 100h for the Charpy impact test and for 0.5 to 500h for the tensile test after solid solution treatment at 723K for 3h. Both the initiation and propagation energies absorbed during the Charpy impact test decreased with the increase in aging time after 50h. The decrease in the absorbed energy was due to the decrease in both of the maximum impact fracture load and the displacement. The rupture energy absorbed during the tensile test decreased after aging for 100h. This was because that the fracture elongation decreased without decrease in the ultimate tensile load which was associated with the β-phase precipitation.