Through thickness fracture toughness variations of AA7021 thick plate

• In this work, a variation of fracture toughness as a function of position and orientation in commercial thick plates of a high strength aluminium alloy has been investigated. Structural and mechanical property variations have been investigated in order to understand the result of the fracture toughness measurements. 100, 150 and 200 mm thick plates of the aluminium alloy AA7010 were studied. The material was averaged and stress relieved by stretching (100 and 150 mm) and cold compression (200 mm), T7451/52. The material studied is frequently used to produce load-carrying airframe components. The knowledge of fracture properties throughout the thick plates is of importance since components are machined from them. The understanding of the varying fracture properties is valuable for development of material and or processes for producing thick plate of high strength aluminium alloys. It is of course also important to know the limitations of the thick plate material and the best way to produce a certain component from a piece of the plate material. Investigated parameters influencing fracture properties are inclusions, recrystallisation, yield strength, chemical composition and quench rate.

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