Numerical simulation of stress evolutions in 2A14 aluminum alloy components during solution and aging process

Aluminum alloys are commonly used in the aerospace industry because of their good specific strength and corrosion resistance. However, reducing residual stresses and machining deformation of aluminum alloy components are the focus of researches. In this paper, a material model of 2A14 aluminum alloy during solution treatment and aging process is established with thermal expansion, high temperature tensile and stress relaxation experiments. The stress relaxation during aging is described with the Zener-Wert-Avrami model based on the experimental data. Quenching and aging experiments of 2A14 aluminum alloy C-ring samples were carried out. Temperature changes of C-rings were measured during quenching, residual stresses in the samples after solution, and aging are measured by XRD, respectively. Based on measured temperature variations, surface heat transfer coefficients of a C-ring during quenching were calculated by inverse heat transfer calculation and a novel optimization method. The changes of temperature, stresses, and notch opening distance of a C-ring during solution and aging process were calculated, and calculated results were in good agreement with the measured results.