Effect of Heat Treatment on the Serration of Low-Concentrated Al-Zn Alloys

The effect of heat-treatment conditions on occurrence of serration in Al-Zn alloys was investigated. Specimens were aged for various times up to 2.6Ms at 293K or 273K after quenching from various temperatures (T(Q)), 473K to 853K, and tensile-tested at room temperature. Serration occurred more easily according as T(Q) became lower and the aging time became shorter: in the case that T(Q)=473K serration was observed even after aging for 2.6Ms, while in the case that T(Q)=773K serration did not occur irrespective of aging conditions. Serration was also recognized when the specimens were furnace-cooled from 773K to room temperature. These results together with those obtained by the electrical resistometry suggest that the serration in the low'concentrated Al-Zn alloy is caused by the formation of small GP zones whose Guinier radius is less than 1nm or some sort of solute clusters.