Why is aluminum heat treated?
Heat treatments are applied to aluminum alloys, both wrought and cast, for the purpose of modifying the alloy’s mechanical properties. In the non-heat treatable alloys, annealing is used to remove the effects of cold working, resulting in reduced strength but increased ductility or formability. For the heat treatable alloys, the heat treatment sequence of solutionizing, quenching, and aging alloys a wdie range of properties to be produced. The highest strength aluminum alloys are heat treatable. Read a technical article to learn more about some recent advances in aluminum heat treatment.
