Magnetic Field, Electric Field Aging Treatment Containing Rare Earth Aluminum-lithium Alloy Fracture Characteristics

The effects of magnetic field or electric field on the properties such as the tensile properties, the fracture feature and the microstructure of Aluminum-Lithium alloys were investigated. The experiment results showed that the fracture feature and the microstructure were changed with the magnetic or electric field intensity increased. With that the tendency of the quasi-cleavage crack decreased and at the same time, the number of the secondary cracks increased, it was contrary to the effect of the electric field aging of the Al-Li alloy. The influence of the magnetic field on the Al-Li alloys containing Ce was different from that without Ce. The ductility of the alloy was improved, but the strength had no changes under the effect of an electric field. In addition, the application of an electric field during the aging made the sub grains larger and with the increase of the strength of the electric field, the distribution of dislocations became more random compared with that without electric field.The mechanism of magnetic field or electric field on solid phase transformation was discussed using the quasi-free electron theory. According to the theory, magnetic or electronic field could affect the internal energy of the metal, which resulted in many changes in the aging of Aluminum-Lithium alloys.