Effect of aging in an electric field on microstructures and properties of 1420 Al- Li alloy

After solution treatment, the 1420 Al- Li alloy samples were aged at different temperatures in an e-lectric field with different intensity. The measurements made showed that the electric field increased the strengthofthe 1420 Al -Li alloy, and best properties were obtained when they were aged at 120 ℃ with E = 4 kV/cmfor 12 hrs. The electric field promoted the nucleation ofδ' phase, increased the quantity of the δ' phase, andmade the size of the δ' phase particles smaller. The electric field restrained the formation and growth of PFZ,and increased the intensity of the electric field while the width of the PFZ was decreased.