Analysis of precipitation and dissolution in overaged 7xxx aluminium alloys using DSC

To improve the understanding of the relation between composition, precipitation and the balance of strength and electrical conductivity (as a measure of the stress-corrosion resistance), a number of Al Zn Mg Cu Zr aluminium alloy plates with different Zn, Mg and Cu contents were produced and studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). It is shown that detailed analysis of the DSC data produces valuable information on the optimal Mg, Zn and Cu contents