Development and Determination of the Age Hardening Characteristics of Al-2.00Mg-2.66Si Wrought Alloy

The study, was carried out by developing the alloy using the foundry route of melting, alloying, and casting. The produced test samples were machined to produce test specimens which were subjected to precipitation hardening treatment. The test specimens were for impact and hardness test to inference the response of the developed alloy to age hardening treatment. The ageing temperature was 190oC, and the ageing time was from 1 -5 hrs. The control specimen was not age hardened and when compared with the age hardened specimens, the tested mechanical properties of the age hardened specimens were better than the control specimen. The hardness was seen to increase, with ageing time peaking at 3hrs of ageing to a value of 38.34 HRB, dropped and rose after 4hrs of ageing and continued to increase, thereby prompting curiosity. The toughness had a steady increase as the ageing time was increased, which clearly showed that the developed alloy responded to age hardening treatment.