Acta metall, mater. Vol. 38, No. 10, pp. 1803-1812, 1990 0956-7151/90 $3.00 + 0.

00
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright © 1990 Pergamon Press plc

OVERVIEW NO. 90

A PROCESS MODEL FOR AGE H A R D E N I N G OF

A L U M I N I U M ALLOYS--II. APPLICATIONS
OF THE MODEL

H. R. SHERCLIFF and M. F. A S H B Y
Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IPZ, U.K.

(Received 6 February 1990)

Abstract--The process model for ageing of aluminium alloys, developed in Part I [H. R. Shercliff and
M. F. Ashby, Acta metall, mater. 38, 1789 (1990)], is applied to a number of heat treatments, establishing
a basis for such problems as the prediction of the strength loss in the heat-affected zone of welds. First,
the reheating of previously aged material is considered. Heat treatment using a parabolic thermal cycle
is then modelled in terms of an equivalent isothermal treatment, and the extension to weld thermal cycles
is considered. Finally the isothermal models are presented as novel "iso-yield diagrams", which are useful
for evaluating the data from thermal cycles and have potential as process diagrams.

R6sum6--Le mod61e pour le calcul du vieillissement des alliages d'aluminium, que l'on a d6velopp6 dans
la partie I, [H. R. Shercliff and M. F. Ashby, Acta metalL mater. 38, 1789 (1990)], est appliqu6 ~ plusieurs
traitements thermiques, ce oui permet d'aborder des probl6mes tels que la pr6vision de la perte de
resistance m6canique dans la zone chauff6e au voisinage des soudures. On consid6re en premier la
rechauffage d'un mat6riau pr6alablement vieilli. On mod61isa ensuite le traitement thermique fi cycle
thermique parabolique fi l'aide d'un traitement isotherme 6quivalent, et l'on consid6re son extension aux
cycles thermiques des soudures. On pr6sente enfin les mod61es isothermes sous forme de nouveaux
"diagrammes d'6gale limite 61astique" qui servant ~i 6valuer les r6sultats tir6s des cycles thermiques, ainsi
qu'fi pr6voir les m6canismes.

Zusammenfassung--Das in Teil 1 [H. R. Shercliff and M. F. Ashby, Acta metall, mater. 38, 1789 (1990)]
entwickelte ProzeBmodell fiir die Alterung von Aluminiumlegierungen wird auf eine Reihe yon W/irme-
behandlungen angewendet. Diese Reihe ergibt eine Grundlage Fiir Fragen wie die Voraussage des
Festigkeitsverlustes in der w/irmebeeinfluBten Zone von SchweiBn/ihten. Zuerst wird die nochmalige
Erw~irmung vorher ausgelagerten Materials betrachtet. W~irmebehandlungen, die einen parabolischen
Thermozyklus benutzen, werden modelliert anhand einer /iquivalenten isothermen W/irmebehandlung;
daraus werden die thermischen Verl/iufe beim SchweiBen betrachtet. SchlieBlich werden die isothermen
Modelle als neuartige "Diagramme gleicher Auswirkung" dargestelle, welche ffir die Auswertung der aus
thermischen Zyklen erhaltenen Daten geeignet sind und als ProzeBdiagramme dienen k6nnen.

1. INTRODUCTION way of presenting the data is helpful: it is the T - t - H

Examples of the use of the process model for ageing
of aluminium alloys, developed in Part I [1] are given.
Commercial heat treatments are seldom isothermal;
the model allows the outcome of t e m p e r a t u r e - t i m e
histories to be predicted, starting either from the
as-quenched state or a pre-aged condition. A special
case of this is welding: points in the heat-affected zone
are subjected to a cycle with a peak temperature
which falls off with distance from the weld centre-line,
and a time constant both of which depend on the
weld process. The model of Part I is first extended to
the isothermal reheating of previously aged material,
and then to various non-isothermal heat treatments.
The models are validated by comparison with exper-
imental data for isothermal and parabolic heating
cycles. Application to prediction of strength of the
heat-affected zone of welds is discussed. A new
or "Iso-yield" diagram, showing the hardness H
reached for any given combination of temperature T
and ageing time t. The diagrams give information
about both isothermal and non-isothermal heat treat-
ments. The symbols and notation are given in
Appendix 1.
2. EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Experiments were performed on samples of the
aluminium alloy 6082 using the same specimen size,
solution treatment and hardness tests as described
in Part I [1]. In one set of experiments material
which had been previously aged to near-peak hard-
ness was reheated at a different constant tem-
perature in a fluidized bed. In a second set of
experiments, specimens in both as-quenched and

1803
1804 SHERCLIFF AND ASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90

near-peak condition were subjected to temperature (Q

cycles of approximately parabolic shape by passing 150 i
AGEING CURVE,
them through a conveyor furnace at various speeds. T6 HARDNESS T6 TEMPERATURE
i_~ REHEAT l:
The furnace temperature was fixed for each pass in CURVE )xs
the range 190-520°C, to give a range of peak tem- . . . . . . . . . . .

peratures. A dummy specimen bearing a chromel- 03

alumel thermocouple was simultaneously passed t/3
UJ
through the furnace, and the temperature cycle Z
tY 50
recorded. < AGEINGCURVE
-r REHEATTEMPERATURE
T' (> TT6)
3. MODELLING OF REHEAT AND
0 I I
THERMAL CYCLES 10 102 103 1~ 105 1o~

A thermal cycle is a heat treatment in which a AGEING TIME (s)

time-temperature history is applied to the material,
starting either from the as-quenched condition, or b]
from a pre-aged state, often that of peak hardness 150'

(the T6 condition). A reheat cycle is a special case A T6 HARDNESS CURVE, T' (>T~)
of this: one in which the temperature is raised Z 1001
quickly to a constant value (the reheat tempera- v
U')
ture) and held there for a fixed time. The reheat tO
ILl
cycle is the simpler of the two. We start with that, z 50
and then analyse more complex temperature-time r'e
<
histories.
I I I r I ~i I
3.1. The modelling o f reheat cycles 10 10z 103 10~' 105 1 107 10s

Consider the reheating of a previously-aged alloy, REHEAT TIME (s)

at a temperature T' for a time t'. The initial state
of the material must first be defined. Take, as an
example, material pre-aged to peak hardness by
ageing for a time iT6 at a temperature TT6. This
treatment corresponds to a temperature-corrected
time, P, [equation (I.14t)] of:
PT6 = ~ 6 exp(-- QA/RTT6). (1)
A given value of P corresponds to a given state of
ageing at any temperature, so the equivalent time at
the reheat temperature, T', is:
teq = PT6 T' exp(QA/RT'). (2)
To model the reheating of the T6 material at the
temperature T', the equivalent time t~q is added to
the reheat time, t', and the total is substituted into the
equations for the ageing curve. This assumes that
ageing simply proceeds from t~, on the ageing curve
for temperature T'. This is illustrated in Fig. l(a).
Point A is the initial aged state on the T6 ageing
curve, while point C is the equivalent position on the
ageing curve for the reheat temperature T'. A compli-
cation is immediately apparent: the predicted hard-
ness at the start of the reheat ( t ' = 0 , point C) is
lower than the actual value (point B), because the
equilibrium volume fraction of precipitate varies with
temperature. We negotiate this by introducing an
exponential time-variation of the volume fraction
from its initial as-aged value to its new equilib-
"}'Equations in Part I will be referred to by this notation.
Fig. I. The development of the isothermal reheating curve:
(a) the ageing curves for the T6 and reheat temperatures,
showing the initial condition (A), and the position of the
equivalent treatment time at the reheat temperature (C). By
an exponential decay of the volume fraction the true
reheating curve (shown dashed) starts at B, and merges with
the ageing curve at D; (b) the reheat curve as in (a) but
plotted on a scale of log (reheat time).
rium value at the reheat temperature [an obvious
adaptation of equation (1.2)]:
f ( t ) = (fo)r' + [fi -- (f0)T']exp( - t'/z2) (3)
where fi is the initial volume fraction and (fo)r' is
the equilibrium volume fraction at the reheat tem-
perature. The concentration of solute in the matrix
follows the variation in f [equation (I. 1]:
E(t) = ci + (Co - ci)[1 - e x p ( - t'/'~2)] (4)
where ci is the initial solute concentration and Cothat
in equilibrium at the reheat temperature. The reheat-
ing curve [BD on Fig. l(a), shown dashed] then
moves from the as-aged strength towards the curve
for the reheat temperature, at a rate controlled by the
exponential time constant z2, which is tied to the time
to peak hardness tp at the temperature T' in the same
manner as the time constant z~ in Part I [equation
(I.26)1:
z2 = K2tp
where K2 is a calibration constant. Substituting for tp
in terms of Pp gives:
~2 = K2ep T" exp(QA/RT'). (5)
 SHERCLIFF and ASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90
The form of the reheating curve, replotted on a
timescale of log (reheat time) is shown in Fig. l(b).
If the reheat temperature lies in a different regime
to the T6 temperature, the original volume fraction of
metastable precipitate decays to zero, and a new
volume fraction of the higher temperature precipitate
appears (both exponentially, see Appendix 2). The
solute concentration of the matrix adjusts in a way
which maintains the overall composition of the alloy.
During the transition, the hardening contributions
due to two precipitates and the solid solution are
added to the intrinsic strength. The mathematical
forms for the decay of the old and growth of the new
precipitates are exponential (though others could
be investigated), and the time constants of the
two processes are adjusted independently (scaled as
before to t~ by constants gas and K3e).
Finally, there is the case of material reheated to
temperatures above the single-phase boundary, caus-
ing reversion to a solid solution which is retained if
the cooling rate is sufficiently high. In this case the
volume fraction returns to zero, and the solid sol-
ution strength returns to its as-quenched value. Since
diffusion is rapid at temperatures close to the melting
temperature, this process is assumed to be instan-
taneous. Details of the implementation can be found
in Appendix 2.
3.2. The modelling of thermal cycles
Most commercial heat treatments are not isother-
mal: more usually, the temperature rises to a peak
Tp and then falls again with a characteristic time
constant. This is the case in welding, in which
points in the heat-affected zone are subjected to
rapid, large, temperature cycles that peak sharply.
One would wish to be able to predict the strength
or hardness after these and other such heat
treatments.
To do this we introduce the concept of the kinetic
strength, J. of a thermal cycle T(t). It is a measure
of the total number of diffusive atomic jumps
made during the cycle (Ion et al. [2]). For particle
coarsening the kinetic strength is defined as:
J = ~ exp - dt (6)
where QA is an activation energy for the diffusional
process concerned and R is the gas constant. In the
case of a constant temperature treatment, the integral
reduces to P, defined earlier:
t
J -= P = - e x p ( - QA/RT). (7)
T
Note that since the value of P at peak strength, Pp,
is constant for all ageing temperatures in a given
regime, the kinetic strength J required to reach the
peak of any ageing curve in that regime is also
constant.
Ion et al. [2] model thermal cycles by using an
"equivalent isothermal cycle" with the same kinetic
AM 38/10-B
1805
strength. The real cycle is replaced by an equivalent
isothermal treatment at the peak of the cycle, T = Tp,
of duration xt, where t is the time to reach peak
temperature in the real cycle, and x is a constant
which depends on Tp and the activation energy QA-
An approximate way of determining the constant
for parabolic cycles was given by Ion et aL A
better and equally simple way is given in Appendix 3.
The result is as follows. If the peak of the thermal
cycle (the important part) is approximated by a
parabola:
Ft - t7 2
r (,)= rp-(rp- ro)L - I (8)
then this may be substituted into equation (6) and
integrated, from which the constant x is found to be:
= QA~p ~ T 0 ) j ' (9)
The effect of the thermal cycle with peak Tp and
time-to-peak t is thus the same as an isothermal
treatment at Tp for a time t = xt. The hardness or
yield stress after a parabolic cycle is then calculated
by using the temperature Tp and xt in the isothermal
model. Evaluation of x and t for real cycles and a test
of the model are presented in Section 5.
4. T H E T - t - H OR ISO-YIELD D I A G R A M
Conventional ageing curves are not always the best
way to present information about age-hardening. The
process model, a set of mathematical relationships
between the process variables, allows other presenta-
tions to be explored. One we have found to be helpful
is shown in Fig. 2. The axes are ageing temperature
and time; the contours are lines of constant hardness
(though yield strength could be used equally well).
These temperature-time-hardness ( T - t - H ) diagrams
are the equivalent, for age hardening alloys, of the
T - T - T curves for transformation of steels but with
"degree of transformation" expressed by hardness.
They have value in selecting process variables and in
assessing the trade-off between temperature and time
to achieve a given hardness as will be shown below.
Further, thermal cycles, such as those analysed in the
next section, can be plotted directly on to the T - t - H
diagram, giving a quick idea of the final hardness.
The diagram is constructed from the model by
following a contour of hardness over the specified
temperature and time ranges..Figure 2(a) shows
the result for the low temperature regime of alloy
6082, for ageing from the as-quenched state. A
section through the diagram at constant temperature
(a horizontal line) gives the familiar form of a
conventional ageing curve: the strength rises to a
peak and then falls towards the overaged limit. This
"peak" on the T - t - H diagram is a ridge which rises
as the temperature falls (because the volume fraction
of precipitate increases).
1806 SHERCLIFF AND ASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90

300 ( a )
j TRANSITION '
TEMPERATURE,Tc
, ,
I

v
ILl 200
OE
40

~1- 7
ILl 100
I- 110

ISO-YIELDDIAGRAM-ALLOY6082 J T 6o
AGEINGFROMAS-QUENCHEDCONDITION I
LOW TEMPERATUREREGIME l
iHARDNESS CONTOURS IN VPN I [
0 I I i i
10 102 103 10~ 105 106 107 108

AGEING TIME IS)

(bl
/ P H A ~ E BOUND~RY -1
600~ TEMPERATURE~Te" .~

soo~eo)

300

I-- 2001-TRANSITION
LLI ~TEMPERATURE,Tc 4O
50
IooI'ISO-YIELDDIAGRAM'-ALLOY6082 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 7 o 90
~
I AGEINGFROMAS-QUENCHED I
CONDITION 0 0
ILOW AND HIGHTEMPERATUREREGIMES 60
0/HARDNESS CONTOURS IN VPN i I i
1 10 102 103 10~ 105 106 107 108

AGEING TIME ( s )
Fig. 2. (a) The "iso-yield diagram" for ageing from the as-quenched condition: temperature against
(log base 10) ageing time, with contours of constant yield strength. Representativevalues are taken for
alloy 6082, and hardness contours are plotted. In this plot the low temperature regime, below Tc, is shown.
(b) The "iso-yield diagram", as in (a), for both high and low temperature regimes, extending to the
single-phase boundary.

600 - ./PHASE 8OUNI]ARY

u__EE,T~__

\4o

13. TRANSITION
20C TEMPERATURE,Tc
IJJ
I-

,00 REHEATING
[ S O ' Y I E L D D I A G R A M ' - A L L O Y 60821
FROM T6 CONDITION
608 2
I 100
ffT_80 l
"-" ~ ~
60 50
LOW AND HIGH TEMPERATUREREGIMES
HARDNESS CONTOURS IN VPN I I I
10 102 103 10~ 105 106 107 108

REHEAT TIME (s)

Fig. 3. The "iso-yield diagram" for reheating from the T6 condition: temperature vs (log base 10) reheating
time, with contours of constant yield strength. Representative values are taken for alloy 6082, and
hardness contours are plotted. In this plot both the low and high temperature regimes are shown.
 SHERCLIFF and ASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90 1807
150
. . . . I ALLOY 6082
T6 HARDNESS
300'C
260"C 220"C 1/.0'C

0 460'C • 300"C
X 420"C ¢ 260"C
• 380"C (D 220%
D 340°C ~ 140"C
I I I I I
10 10 2 10 3 I0 I' IO s I0 6 10 7 10 8

REHEAT TIME (s)

Fig. 4. The data from the present study for alloy 6082 compared with the model for reheating from the
T6 condition, for eight treatment tremperatures.

Figure 2(b) shows the same T - t - H diagram, with
axes expanded to include both low and high tem-
perature regimes, up to the phase boundary. The
peak strength "ridge" is continuous across the tran-
sition, but away from the peak the discontinuity,
referred to in Part I, is apparent. In reality, mixed
precipitation near the transition temperature will lead
to a smooth variation in strength.
Similar diagrams can be constructed for reheating
from the T6 (or any other) condition. Figure 3 shows

30o (o) i

Q_

200 TX6YIELD
STRESS i ) ' ~ ° ' % e ~ e• + •l e ~ ++~+ ++ ,v + ~ ~~~ 1 2 1 ' 4 ~9=C
U3
03
LU • 1
n" --'F

(73
.J
IJJ
>- 100
ALLOY 6061 171*C-
ANDERSON(1959)
• 232"C
+ 204"C
v 171*C
o 1L9'C
0 X 121'C I I I I I
10 102 103 10~ 105 106 107 108 109

REHEAT TIME ( s )
b)
300

,
C ~ , ~ ~
/, & A& 107OC

5" T6 YIELD 5oC

v 200 STRESS
03

LIJ--I 100 ALLOY 6061

ANDERSON(1959} 1910C
(D 218*C
• 191*C
ID 163=C
• 135*C
z~ 107*C
0 I I I I I
10 10z 103 10~ 105 106 107 10a 109
REHEAT TIME (s)
Fig. 5. The data from Anderson [3] for alloy 6061 compared with the model for reheating from the T6
condition for 10 temperatures (spread over two figures).
1808 SHERCLIFF ANDASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90

an example spanning both high and low temperature 3s° Ix MEAS ED 0AN
regimes (using calibrated values for alloy 6082, CURVE
30Oh EONm{B} .~ ' ~ ~'~I"~PEAKTTEM~--~TURE. -
derived later).

5. VALIDATION AND APPLICATION tl.l

OF THE MODEL 23 200
MID

We have tested these ideas by comparing the

predictions of the model with data derived from our
LLI
o_
150
r ,c i
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
r,,
,

l.tJ 100 TI
own experiments and from the literature. I-- [ ~: PEAK,T i \ "XX..
I~ ROOM \ I \ ~xT~
5.1. Isothermal reheating from the T6 condition 50 :~ TEMPERATURE, \', _ \ "x

The (average) T6 hardness of alloy 6082 is 106 oK'. . . . . . . . .

VPN. A typical T6 treatment temperature is 175°C;

5.1 h at this temperature gives a predicted hardness of
106 VPN. The corresponding temperature-corrected
time is PT6 = 2.86 x 10 -~4 s/K. Using the calibration
values for alloy 6082 from Part I, the reheat curves
are plotted with experimental data, as shown in Fig.
4. The values of/(2, K3~ and K3, must be found by
trial-and-error; K2=K3~=2.0 and K3~=0.5 are
found to give the optimum fit. The data lie within
10% of the theory.
Reheat data are also available for alloy 6061 [3],
initially aged to a peak (T6) strength of 273 MPa.
Proceeding as before, using TT6= 175°C, we find
a temperature-corrected time for peak ageing of
PT6 = 1.75 X 10 15s/K. The model is calibrated for
the low temperature regime (see Part I), and so the
only remaining parameter is K2, for which a value of
2.0 is used. Figure 5 shows the experimental data and
the theoretical curves--two figures are used to avoid
congestion. In all cases the model gives a slightly
conservative prediction of strength loss, reflecting
"rIME (rains)
Fig. 6. The measured and idealized parabolic profile for a
typical thermal cycle used for treating alloy 6082 in the
as-quenched and T6 conditions.
as explained in Secton 3). The data for previously
aged material is plotted on the second iso-yield
diagram for reheating from the T6 condition in
Fig. 8. The ratios of the predicted and measured
hardnesses--a measure of the success of the m o d e l - -
are given in Table 1. The agreement is good in both
cases--the worst disparity is 18%, but generally
much less.
5.3. Application to welding
A more demanding test of the model is its appli-
cation to welding. The thermal cycle at a point in the
heat-affected zone of a weld of given power, speed,
Table 1. Critical parameters for the parabolic thermal cycles used to
treat alloy 6082

the disparity found with the original ageing curves (a) Initial material condition: as-quenched
(Part I). Peak Idealized Hardness ratio
Cycle temperature time to peak (predicted/
5.2. Heat treatment with a parabolic thermal cycle number Tp ("C) r (s) x measured)
1 424 1146 0.492 1.00
Quenched and previously aged samples of alloy 2 400 1167 0.489 1.00
6082 were given thermal cycle treatments. Figure 6 3 374 1146 0.487 0.93
shows a typical cycle, with an idealized parabolic 4 301 1188 0.485 0.95
5 272 1146 0.487 0.96
curve superposed [equation (8)]. The "tails" of the 6 242 1188 0.500 0.99
true cycle can be neglected in practical terms, they 7 229 1146 0.492 0.96
8 203 1188 0.499 0.96
do not contribute to the transformation--but they 9 190 1188 0.503 0.91
make it difficult to estimate the time-to-peak, z.
10 371 1803 0.487 0.97
Instead the width of the cycle at the mid temperature, 11 325 1782 0.452 0.95
TI/2 = (Tp+ T0)/2, is used; the corresponding time, 12 294 1718 0.486 0.89
13 265 1527 0.487 0.87
2q/2, is shown on Fig. 6. Substituting t = t~/2 + z and 14 247 1591 0.489 0.94
T = TL.2 into equation (8), we find r = x/~ q/2. The 15 220 1633 0.494 0.93
idealized curve is plotted in Fig. 6 using this value of 16 206 1633 0.498 1.02
17 188 1633 0.504 0.92
z, and Tp measured directly. The fit near the peak is
(b) Initial material condition: T6 temper
excellent, allowing the factor x [equation (9)] and the
kinetic strength of the cycle [equation (6)] to be Peak Idealized Hardness ratio
Cycle temperature time to peak (predicted/
calculated. Tables 1(a,b) show the critical values for number Tp ('C) z (s) x measured)
the thermal cycles used to age specimens of alloy 6082 1 518 967 0.502 1.15
from as-quenched, and to reheat specimens of the 2 450 880 0.494 1.18
same alloy in the T6 condition. 3 382 933 0.488 1.01
4 350 902 0.486 1.04
The data for parabolic cycles applied to material in 5 303 942 0.485 1.00
the as-quenched condition is plotted on the first 6 246 899 0.489 1.13
7 194 921 0.502 1.03
iso-yield diagram in Fig. 7 (using t = xz and T = Tp,
 SHERCLIFF and ASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90 1809
o)
I'ISO-YIELD DIAGRAM'-ALLOY 6082 izo IALLOY 6082
S00 I AGEING FROM AS-QUENCHED CONDITION
I HARDNESSCONTOURSANODATA(VPN) 120 [ ~ --~,3-g'~mm

EL 100
---<.. \
60 "--.,~o.3o~ 6.3 ~0
q~ 80 ~ LTHEORETICAL
ILl
Z ~o, ~'7 PROFILE
a6o
n,"
[• j
< ==
T 40
MELT
POOL
2O

0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
i
DISTANCE FROM WF1D CENTRE-LINE (mm)
103 104
(b)
AGEING TIME ( s ) 140 ALLOY 6082
Fig. 7. The data for ageing alloy 6082 from the as-quenched
condition using a parabolic thermal cycle, reduced to 12o ~- 9.-'~
equivalent isothermal treatments, and compared with the Z "~
model on the first iso-yield diagram for both high and low a. lOC
>
temperature regimes.
~/) 80 •
W THEORETEAI
thickness and material can be calculated [4]. The Z
a 60 PROFILE
effect of the thermal cycle on microstructure and rr
strength is a major factor in welding technology. This "1- 40 MELT
has been modelled, for steels, by Ion et al. [2]. We POOL
20
have tried to do the same thing for aluminium alloys
aged, as they usually are before welding, to the T6 i i In i i i i
condition. The kinetic strength of the weld thermal 0 -30 -20 -1_ 0 10 20 30
cycle is evaluated at each point in the heat-affected DISTANCE FROM WELD CENTRE-LINE (ram)
zone of the weld. In this case equation (6) is inte- Fig. 9. The measured and predicted hardness profiles
grated numerically, giving an equivalent isothermal along the centre-line of two welds in alloy 6082 (using
treatment characterized by Tp and Kz, where z is the automatic MIG process, efficiency--0.75). Weld condi-
time-to-peak as before. The reheat model is then used tions: (a) thickness = 6.35 mm; power = 4730 W; speed =
15 ram/s; (b) thickness = 9.5 ram; power = 4400 W; speed =
to calculate the hardness profile. Figure 9 shows the 5.15 mm/s.
measured and predicted hardness profiles for two
welds in alloy 6082; the zone-width is predicted well.
Further x~ork in this area offers advantages over 6. CONCLUSIONS
current practice [5].
We have tried to find out if a process model for
u
age hardening will work. The model developed here
is as simple as we could make it while still retaining
500
the essential features of ageing: it approximates at
many points and omits at others. Despite this, the
shapes of the ageing curves, the reheat behaviour,
~, zOO
and the effect of thermal cycles are all r e p r o d u c e d - -
not exactly, but with useful precision. The model
can be used for such purposes as predicting the
-3 30O
structure and strength of weld heat-affected zones
(suggesting modifications to welding design codes)
and, though we have not done so, for optimizing
TEMPERATURE .... ~l ~ / ~ / ~ I ~
WIW 200 • Tc o'~.s I00 90 ~ ?0 heat treatment schedules. Once data are captured
'ISO-YIELDDIAGRAM'-ALLOY6082 [ by a process model, they can be presented in new
REHEATINGFROIMT6 CONDITION ways. One is shown here: the T t - H diagram, par-
I HARDNESSCONTOURSANDDATA(VPN) I
100= ticularly helpful in summarizing the effects of heat
102 103 10t'
treatments.
REHEAT TIME (s)
So the conclusion reinforces that of Part I: that
Fig. 8. The data for reheating alloy 6082 from the T6 a process model is viable, though development
condition using a parabolic thermal cycle, reduced to equiv- work is needed. Specifically, the assumptions made
alent isothermal treatments, and compared with the model
on the second iso-yield diagram for both high and low here need closer scrutiny, sophistications of the treat-
temperature regimes. ment deserve attention, and applications to other age
1810 SHERCLIFF AND ASHBY:
h a r d e n i n g systems m u s t be explored. T h e i n d i c a t i o n s
are that it will repay the effort.
Acknowledgements--The financial support of the U.K.
Science and Engineering Research Council is gratefully
acknowledged. We also wish to thank Dr J. C. Ion for
helpful discussions, and Mr B. Butler for assistance with the
experimental work.
REFERENCES
1. H. R. Shercliff and M. F. Ashby, Ms 095 Acta metall.
mater. To be published.
2. J. C. Ion, K. E. Easterling and M. F. Ashby, Acta
metall. 32, 11, 1949 (1984).
3. W. A. Anderson, in Precipitation from Solid Solution.
Am. Soc. Metals, Metals Park, Ohio (1959).
4. D. Rosenthal, Trans. A S M E 68, 849 (1946).
5. British Standards Institution, Draft BS8118 (November
1988).
6. H. R. Shercliff and M. F. Ashby, Cambridge University
Engineering Department Report, CUED/C-
Mat./TRI56 (1989).
APPENDIX 1 (F0)~.:
Nomenclature
A , B =Temperatures used in evaluation of
kinetic strength (°C or K)
F = Volume fraction parameter
J = Kinetic strength (s/K)
K v K3s, K3e = Calibration constants, controlling time
constants z 2, ~3s and z3e
P = Temperature-corrected time (s/K)
Pp, P ~ = Peak temperature-corrected time (low
and high temperature) (s/K)
QA = Activation energy for ageing (J/tool)
Q~, Q~ = Free energy of solution (high and low
temperature solvi) (J/mo0
R = Universal gas constant (8.314 J/mol K)
So, S0~ = Precipitation strength parameter (low
and high temp.) (VPN or MPa)
T = Temperature (°C or K)
T¢ = Transition temperture (°C or K)
T~, T~ = Solvus temperature (high and low tem-
perature) (°C or K)
To, T o = Initial and peak temperatures (°C or K)
T' = Reheat temperature (°C or K)
c~ = Concentration of the alloy (wt %)
( = Mean solute concentration in the matrix
(wt %)
f = Volume fraction of precipitate
f0 = Final equilibrium volume fraction of
precipitate
t = Time (s)
tp = Time to reach ageing curve peak (s)
t ' = Reheat time (s)
t* = Dimensionless time
tt/2 = Half-width of thermal cycle at mid-tem-
perature, TU2 (S)
~c~ = Duration of equivalent isothermal treat-
ment to a thermal cycle (s)
a~ = Intrinsic yield strength (VPN or MPa)
Cro~= Overaged yield strength (VPN or MPa)
a o = Peak yield strength (VPN or MPa)
aq=As-quenched yield strength (VPN or
MPa)
z = Time-to-peak of thermal cycle (s)
T~, r2, %,, z3~ = Exponential time constants (s)
Aoppt = N e t precipitation strength increment
(VPN or MPa)
OVERVIEW NO. 90
Atr, = Solid solution increment of yield
strength (VPN or MPa)
APPENDIX 2
Implementation o f Reheating Model
Reheat temperature in the same regime as the T6 temperature
In modelling reheating of previously aged material it is first
necessary to calculate the "kinetic contribution" of the
previous treatment. This is done by calculating the quantity
PT6 corresponding to the prior T6 ageing, and from it the
equivalent treatment time [equation (21)]. This is added to
the reheat time, t'; the corresponding current value of P is
the reheat value P' plus PT6.
The precipitation contribution depends on the volume
fraction which adjusts, with an exponential time-dependence
to its new equilibrium value [equation (3)]. The volume
fraction is not evaluated explicitly in the model, but is
incorporated through the parameter S 0. We define a par-
ameter, F, proportional to the volume fraction:
F(t') = S~( t')/( So)2max (A l)
and allow this to decay exponentially from its initial
value in the T6 condition, F~, to the equilibrium value at T',
F(t') = (F0)r. + [Fi - (F0)T,]exp(-- t'/~2). (A2)
The time constant ~2 was defined in equation (5). Fi is found
by substituting tx6 and Tx6 into the ageing model [equation
(I.27b)]:
~=[I- exp(-edR)F'- '-ll
LT~ T~JJ
x [1 - e x p ( - t r d r 0 ] . (A3)
The equilibrium value of F at a temperature T' is [equation
(I.27a)]:
(F0)v. = 1 - exp - Qs [ I - --11. (A4)
RLT' L_I
The current value of F from equation (A2), is substituted
into equation (AI) to give the current value of So; this is
substituted with the current value of P into the ageing model
to give Aappt(t') [equation (I.23)].
The solid solution contribution follows the variation in
solute concentration [equation (4) with Aass oc ~2/3]:
Aa~(t') = I-A~3/2
i.~Vss 0 + [Art3/2 3/2
t--vssl -- AO'ss0]
x e x p ( - t'/z2)] 2/3. (A5)
Ao~i is found from the ageing model with t = tT6 and
T = TT6 [equation (I.25)]; Aa~0 is equal to (trod T, - o i where
(aO,)T, is the overaged stress at the reheat temperature
[equation (I.31)].
The evolution o f the net strength with time is then found
by summing the strengthening increments:
O"(t ') = tr i + (Ao'ss) ( t ' ) + (Aoppt)(t '). (A6)
The only new adjustable parameters are the constant K 2
(defining the time constant z2) and the linked parameters Tv6
and Pv6 (which cannot vary independently as the predicted
initial strength must equal the measured strength).
Reheat temperature in a different regime to the T6 tem-
perature
The procedure in this case is similar to the above, with the
additional requirement that the volume fractions of old and
new precipitate independently follow exponential variations.
The initial conditions are the same, hence TT6, tr6, Pr6, t,q,
 S H E R C L I F F and ASHBY:
(Aass)l and F~ are evaluated as above. The exponential
variations in f are incorporated using the factor F [equation
(A 1)] as follows:
(a) F for the old precipitate falls from its initial value F i
to zero:
F(t') = F i exp( -- t'/z~) (A7)
where r~ is a temperature-dependent time constant defined
in the same way as z2, with adjustable constant K3~:
r3s = K3s Po T' exp(QA/RT'). (A8)
(b) F for the new precipitate, which we call F e, rises from
zero to its equilibrium value at the reheat temperature,
(F~o)T':
Fe(t ') = (F~.0)r, [I -- e x p ( - t'/r3¢) ] (A9)
where ~3¢ is defined similarly to z3s, with adjustable constant
K3¢:
"C3e= K3e Ppe T' exp(QA/R T') (A 10)
and (F¢0)v, is given by equation and (Fe0)v. is given by
equation (A4) with appropriate constants:
(F~0).r. = 1 - exp - QRe [ '~ --~¢' ] . (AI 1)
To calculate the precipitation hardening increments, F(t')
and F~(t') are substituted into equation (A1) to give two
values for S 0. which are substituted into equation 0.23), to
give (AappO(t') and (A%p,)~(t') for the two types of precipi-
tate. Appropriate values for the calibration constants are
used: (S0)m,~ and Pp in the first case, and (S0~)m~ and P~ in
the second.
The solute concentration adjusts to conserve the total
solute content of the alloy. The variation of (Aa~) with
reheat time is then determined by the net volume fraction
of the two precipitates. Let the total volume fraction of
precipitate be represented by Fro,:
Fro (t'~ = F(t') + F¢(t'). (AI2)
The relationship between the equilibrium volume fraction of
precipitate, f , and corresponding solute concentration, E,
was given in Part I:
f shifts the time origin to the peak of the cycle; hence equation
: = - (AI3)
Since f~fm~* = Fto~, we have:
E(t') = c~[l - Fto,(t') ]. (A14)
Substituting as before (using Aa~, oc g2,'3), and noting
that c~ corresponds to the as-quenched solid solution
strength:
Aa~(t ') = laq - ai)[1 - F,o~(t')] 23. (A15)
The net ~ield strength is then found by summing the
contributions:
a(t') = a i + (Aa~)(t'~ ~- (Aappt)(t') + (Aappt)~(t'). (AI6)
The additional parameters introduced for reheating in
this regime are the constants controlling the exponential
variations of the two volume fractions, K3, and K3~.
Reversion above a soh~u~ boundary
Resolution above the equilibrium phase boundary is
considered to be instantaneous, due to the high diffusion
rate. Reversion above a metastable boundary (when a
new precipitate does not form) is slower and may be
modelled as in (ii) above using the final conditions that
the volume fraction of old precipitate becomes zero,
F 0 = 0, and the volume fraction of new precipitate remains
zero, F~(t')= 0. The solid solution increment returns (as
expected) to its as-quenched value, (Aa,~)0 = O-q- a i.
OVERVIEW NO. 90 1811
Summary of the Reheating Model
In summary, the steps in the modelling of reheating are
thus:
(i) Obtain a value for the initial strength in the T6
condition.
(ii) Select values for TI6 and tT6 by trial-and-error which
predict the measured strength using the ageing model.
(iii) Calculate the equivalent temperature-corrected
time. PT6, and the equivalent treatment time, teq, at the
reheat temperature.
(iv) Using the ageing model with 7" = TT6 and t = tT6
calculate the initial solid solution contribution and volume
fraction parameter F.
Reheating in the two regimes must now be considered
separately, beginning with the low temperature regime.
(v) Evaluate the equilibrium values of the solid solution
contribution and F at the reheat temperature.
(vi) At each reheat time, evaluate S 0, P, the precipitation
contribution, Aaoo t, and the solid solution contribution Aa~s.
(vii) Sum the components, and plot the reheat curve
[strength vs log(time)] with experimental data.
(viii) Adjust K 2 and try alternative pairs of TT6 and Px6 to
optimize the fit.
If calibration values for the ageing model and data for the
high temperature regime are also available, steps (v)-(viii)
are replaced by:
(ix) Select values for K3s and K3e, and use to calculate (at
each reheat time) P, F, F~, S O for each precipitate, the two
precipitation contributions (using appropriate constants),
AO'ppt and (Ao'ppt)e, and the solid solution contribution, Aas~.
(x) Repeat (vii) with high temperature data.
(xi) Adjust K3s and K~e to improve the fit, or if Tr6 and
Pr6 are changed, replot the low temperature curves as well.
APPENDIX 3
The Kinetic Strength o f a Parabolic Thermal Cycle
The kinetic strength, J, of a parabolic thermal cycle,
and its equivalent isothermal treatment (at T = Tp) are
key factors in applying the ageing model to thermal cycles.
One way of calculating J was given by Ion et al. [2]; here
we present a more accurate method. The parabolic thermal
cycle shown in Fig. 6 is described by equation (8).
A dimensionless time, t * = ( t - r ) / z , is introduced which
(8) becomes:
T ( t * ) = T p - ( T p - To)t .2. (A17)
The kinetic strength of a thermal cycle T(t) was defined in
equation (6). By changing to the variable t* (dt = rdt*) we
may use the symmetry in the position t * = 0 and hence
double the integral from t* = 0 to t* = ~ :
J=2 T ( ~ exp _ [ QA ] d t * . (AI8)
I_R T(t*)j
Using A = Tp and B = ( T p - T o ) in equation (A17), the
integral becomes:
z QA ]dt*. (AI9)
J=zf0 ~ (A--]~t$53 exp-[R ( A - B t .2)
Consider the formula for the difference of two squares:
1 A + Bt*2
(A20)
(A -- Bt .2) A2--(Bt*2) 2"
For small values of t*, close to the peak (which dominates
the kinetic strength), t* ,~ 1. Since A / B = Tp/(Tp -- To), A / B
is always greater than unity, and so t*2 ~ A/B, or A >>Bt*2
Using this and equation (A20) the kinetic strength may be
approximated by:
1812 SHERCLIFF AYD ASHBY: OVERVIEW NO. 90

Shercliff and Ashby [6] illustrated the quality of the approxi- The kinetic strength of the equivalent isothermal cycle at Tp
mation by plotting the exact and approximate integrands and of duration xz is given by equation (7):
against t* from equations (AI9) and (A21), and comparing KT
the areas under the two functions. Equation (A21) may J = Tp exp - (QA/RTr,). (A23)
be integrated directly, yielding (after substitution for A and
B): Comparing equations (A22) and (A23) we find:
[ xR ]''2 =r/ nRT~_ ~/./2" (A24)
J = "r QA(f~_ To) exp - (QA/RTv). (A22)
[QA(Tp- To)d