The effect of homogenization treatment on the hot workability between the surface and the center of AA 2014 ingots

This paper discusses an investigation of the structural and mechanical properties between the surface and the center of AA 2014 alloy ingots obtained by direct casting, and achievement of uniform workability by applying a homogenization treatment. Ingots 200 mm in diameter were homogenized; then, the structural and mechanical properties of samples taken from four different regions of the ingots between the surface and the center were determined using hot torsion and hardness tests, light optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hot torsion tests after homogenization were conducted at a deformation temperature of 440degreesC with a strain rate of 2 x 10(-2) s(-1). The peak stress and the strain difference between the surface and the center decreased with the homogenization treatment. The least difference between the surface and the center was obtained from the ingot sections cooled in the furnace from a homogenization temperature of 510 degreesC based upon hot torsion test at a temperature of 440degreesC. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.