Effect of Zr on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Alloy with High Zn/Mg Ratio

The high-strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy has broad application prospects in high-end equipment manufacturing fields, such as aerospace, national defense and military industry, and transportation. However, the grains of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy are coarse, and the grains further grow after heat treatment, which seriously reduces the mechanical property of alloy castings. Therefore, the study on reducing the grain size of the cast alloy was carried out by adding Zr element and applying electromagnetic stirring treatment technology, as well as suppressing the recrystallization of the aluminum alloy during the heat treatment process. The results show that adding Zr element reduced the grain size by 30%, the tensile strength increased by 50 MPa, and the elongation increased by more than 10%.