Aluminum alloy products and methods of preparation

A wrought aluminum alloy product, constituted of an alloy having a major content of aluminum and containing at least two alloying elements selected from the group consisting of Fe in an amount of at least 1.2%, Ni in an amount of at least 1.1%, Mn in an amount of at least 0.3%, and Si in an amount of at least 0.5%, subject to the proviso that when both Fe and Ni are selected up to 0.5% of the combined Fe and Ni content may be substituted by an equal amount of Co, the content of alloying elements present in said alloy being not more than about 10% each, not more than about 20% total, and lying between 20% less than and 10% more than the value of a eutectic composition, said alloy being castable to develop 5.0-20% by volume of intermetallics that are at least one compound of aluminum and at least one alloying element present in said alloy and are formed from the melt in a casting operation, said product containing, in an aluminum matrix, not less than 5.0 percent by volume and not more than about 20 percent by volume of dispersed intermetallic particles having an average particle diameter ranging between about 0.1 microns and about 2 microns which are fragments of unaligned intermetallic rods developed by casting and having an average diameter of 0.05-1.5 microns and broken up by working, the size range of said dispersed intermetallic particles being such as to enable the particles to generate and stabilize a dislocation cell of not more than about 3 microns in magnitude during cold deformation and to hold a grain diameter of not more than about 3 microns after annealing and also to hold high angle misorientation boundaries in the aluminum matrix, thereby to provide a dispersion strengthened alloy product, said product containing not more than 2% by volume of coarse primary intermetallic particles ranging upwardly of 3 microns in diameter.

A wrought aluminum alloy product incorporating 5.0-20% by volume of dispersed intermetallic particles having an average particle diameter ranging between 0.1 and 2 microns, said alloy containing not more than 2% by volume of coarse intermetallic particles ranging upwardly of 3 microns in diameter and containing as principal alloying constituents at least two alloying elements selected from the group consisting of Fe in an amount of at least 1.2%, Ni in an amount of at least 1.1%, Mn in an amount of at least 0.3%, and Si in an amount of at least 0.5%, subject to the proviso that when both Fe and Ni are selected up to 0.5% of the combined Fe and Ni content may be substituted by an equal amount of Co, said principal alloying constituents being present in a total amount to supply not less than 5.0 volume percent and not more than about 20 volume percent of intermetallic phases, said alloy also containing up to 1.5% total (1.0% max. each) Zn, Li, Cu and Mg and up to a total of 1.0% max. (0.3% max.each) other elements, the content of said principal alloying constituents in said alloy lying between 20% less than and 10% more than the value of a eutectic composition, said dispersed intermetallic particles being fragments of unaligned intermetallic rods developed by casting and having an average diameter of 0.05- 1.5 microns and broken up by working, the size range of said dispersed intermetallic particles being such as to enable the particles to generate and stabilize a dislocation cell of not more than about 3 microns in magnitude during cold deformation and to hold a grain diameter of not more than about 3 microns after annealing and also to hold high angle misorientation boundaries in the aluminum matrix, thereby to provide a dispersion strengthened alloy product.