Effects of Pre-Deformation Mode on Non-Homogeneity of Plastic Deformation and Mechanical Properties in Al–Cu–Mg–Ag Alloy

The influence of a pre-deformation mode during the thermomechanical treatment of an A2139 Al alloy plate on the non-homogeneity of plastic deformation and mechanical properties was investigated. Two pre-deformation modes were selected: cold stretching (CS) and cold rolling (CR). The CS mode demonstrated a uniform equivalent strain in the thickness direction. However, a higher overall equivalent strain was observed in the CR mode, with the equivalent strain being higher on the surface than at the center of the plate. When a pre-deformation of 7% was applied, surface defects, such as orange peels, occurred on the plate surface in the CS mode. In contrast, in the CR mode, a clean surface was obtained. Therefore, to obtain a clean plate surface, pre-deformation through CR is more effective than that through CS. With the application of pre-deformation, hardness and strength increased significantly without a decrease in elongation, and the time required to reach peak aging could be shortened significantly. The CR mode exhibited greater improvements in terms of hardness and strength compared to the CS mode. However, in terms of toughness, the CS mode showed a greater improvement than the CR mode. Therefore, to achieve both high strength and a clean plate surface with increasing pre-deformation, utilizing the CR mode is more effective. In the CR mode, despite a significant reduction in the residual stress after artificial aging, a weak tensile residual stress remained on the surface. By contrast, in the CS mode, most of the residual stress was removed after artificial aging.