Tension tests were conducted on round bar specimens, having the long parallel lengths of about 220 mm produced by cutting out of thick plates of Al-Zn-Mg T 4 and T 6 alloys in thickness of 15, 20, 30, and 35 mm.
The main results obtained were as follows.
(1) The relation between tensile strength (σ
B) and proof stress (σ
0.2) is expressed as follows.
σ
0.2/σ
B = 0.66 for T 4 alloys
σ
0.2/σ
B = 0.91 for T 6 alloys
(2) No effects of age-hardening were found in T 6 alloys, but it was evident in T 4 alloys that tensile strength and proof stress were considerably improved by the effects of age-hardening.
(3) The apparent fractures after shearing were different between T 4 and T 6 test pieces. The former exhibited little local contraction, which the latter exhibited a relatively large necking down.
(4) The curve expressing the relation between δ and L
0/√A in T 4 alloys (in which δ: elongation percentage, L
0: gauge length, and A: cross-sectional area of the apecimen) was more likely to be horizontal for smaller value of L
0/√A than that value in T 6 alloys. Then, elongation percentages would be practically expressed with considerable accuracy for the values of L
0/√A ≥ 5 in T 4 and L
0/√A ≥ 10 in T 6 alloys.
(5) The specimens had anisotropy in structure, because they had been cut out of rolled plates. Accordingly, they had elliptical cross-section. The value of mechanical anisotropy was defined and expressed as k.
(6) Supplementary tests were conducted in order to compare elongation percentage of a plate specimen with that of a round bar specimen of the same material. If the value of L
0/√A was constant, the values of elongation percentage were almost the same in the both specimens.
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