The tensile strength of 339 aluminum reinforced with Kaowool fibers: A comparison of T5 and T6 heat treatments

This study compares the effects of T5 and T6 heat treatment on the tensile strengths of both KAOWOOL fiber reinforced and unreinforced 339 aluminum. The 339 Al-T6 is stronger than 339 Al-T5 (as expected), but for a KAOWOOL/339 Al composite, the T5 condition is substantially stronger than the T6. The controlling parameter is the strength of the aluminum dendrites, which in turn is proportional to the concentration of magnesium retained in the dendrites. In the T5 condition, more than half of the magnesium is in the form of large intermetallics in both the unreinforced alloy and the KAOWOOL/339 Al composite. During a T6 heat treatment, magnesium in the intermetallics is redissolved. In the unreinforced T6 alloy, this additional magnesium is retained in and strengthens the dendrites. But in the T6 composite, the magnesium segregates extensively to the KAOWOOL/aluminum interfaces depleting and softening the dendrites. This factor alone is sufficient to account for the low strength of the T6 composites. The tensile strengths of both the T5 and T6 composites correspond to the calculated values for a perfectly bonded system.