Through Thickness Property Variations in 7050 Plate

Rolled and artificially aged 7XXX plate characteristically exhibits a W-shaped pattern of longitudinal yield strength through the thickness. This pattern has been attributed to chemical composition, quench path, and a gradient in crystallographic texture. Previous efforts to separate effects of these factors were unsuccessful because of confounding effects, but were separated in this investigation using 7050-T74 plate by combining novel experimental techniques and modeling. The results indicate that, while these factors account for much of the pattern, anisotropy induced by the precipitates contributes significantly. (Author)