Properties of spray formed high strength, heat treatable AlZnCuMgZr alloys

High strength, heat treatable 7050 aluminum alloy was spray formed into billets and plated under different processing conditions for subsequent working by rolling. Post forming heat treatment in the T73651 condition was applied to the as-sprayed and as-sprayed/rolled materials. Various properties of the materials in the as-sprayed, as-sprayed/T73651, as-sprayed/rolled and as-sprayed/rolled/T73651 were compared to that of wrought plate in the T7451 condition. AlZnCuMg alloys in the as-sprayed/T73651 condition without subsequent working, displayed high tensile strengths only 6 ksi (41 MPa) less than the wrought plate in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. Ductility, however, was poor in both directions for the as-sprayed/T73651 material. AIZnCuMg alloys in the as-sprayed/rolled/T73651 condition displayed much higher strength and ductility, and differed from the wrought plate by only 3-4 ksi (20-27 MPa) and .1 - .8%, respectively. The yield strengths in both the as-sprayed/T73651 and as-sprayed/rolled/T73651 compared favorably with the wrought plate with less than 1 ksi (6.8 MPa) difference. The slightly lower tensile strengths of the as-sprayed/rolled/T73651 materials is attributed to the gettering of Cu by the higher Fe content in the sprayed formed material compared to the wrought material. This phenomenon was explained by the higher volume fraction of constituent particles found in the as-sprayed/rolled/T73651 condition compared to the wrought material.