Properties of Shock Hardened 7050 Aluminum Alloy.

Work has shown that improvements in both strength and ductility of nickel-base alloys can be achieved by shockwave deformation shock hardening. Such deformation is produced by impact of a driver plate on a flat sample. The driver plate is driven by an explosive pressure pulse. Specifically, the University of Denver work showed shock-aging Udimet 700 sheet at 527 kbar pressure could lead to ductility increases of 200 to 400, together with substantial increases in strength at both room temperature and 649 C 1200 F. Stress rupture life at 649 C 1200 F could be increased as high as 50-fold. This report contains the results of an attempt to achieve similar improvements in mechanical properties of 7050 aluminum alloy plate by shock hardening. Shock hardening produced no significant change in the tensile or fatigue properties of the 7050 plate. Exfoliation resistance was also found to be unchanged. Shock hardening of 7050-T73651 aluminum plate produces no significant change in its properties.