Optimizing the Parameters in Heat Treatment for Achieving High Hardness and Efficient Bending of Thin BS 2014 Aluminium Alloy Sheets

The present work targets in setting a standard heat treatment procedure for obtaining high hardness values of the order of 80 HRB in BS 2014 aluminium alloy sheets of 2mm thick commonly used in aerospace industries. A hardness range of 60HRB to 72HRB is possible in low thickness sheets as stated in the standard BS EN 485-2:2013. Experiments were performed to achieve higher hardness values by controlling the heat treatment temperatures thereby understanding the ageing mechanism of the Al-Cu alloy to a wider extent. The validated process sequence in turn resulted in complications where bending of the sheets resulted in cracking. Further investigation was performed and it was found that the BS 2014 alloy has to be bent within two hours of solution annealing in order to have an efficient bending. The results showed that the natural ageing is so rapid in this alloy, which strengthens the material so quickly by the formation of CuAl2 precipitates, thereby, demanding the bending procedure to be performed before the growth of precipitates becomes dominant.