Study on the Influence of Nickel Additions on AA7020 Formability Under Superplastic Forming Like Conditions

Abstract

This study set out to look at the influence of nickel additions on a commercially available AA7020 to understand the impact of the resultant intermetallics on recrystallization, formability and material strength. Elevated temperature tensile testing across a range of strain rates (5 × 10−4 s−1 × 10−1 s−1) and three temperatures (450− 500 °C) to compare material ductility followed by gas bulge testing at 475 °C and two gas pressures to investigate formability in a test closer to industrial forming conditions. Material strength was established using standard tensile testing, and EBSD used to understand the microstructural evolution of the materials.