Advances in Microstructural Understanding of Wrought Aluminum Alloys

Wrought aluminum alloys are an attractive option in the quest for lightweight, recyclable, structural materials. Modern wrought aluminum alloys depend on control of complex microstructures to obtain their properties. This requires an understanding of the coupling between alloy composition, processing, and microstructure. This paper summarizes recent work to understand microstructural evolution in such alloys, utilizing the advanced characterization techniques now available such as atom probe tomography, high-resolution electron microscopy, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction and scattering. New insights into precipitation processes, deformation behavior, and texture evolution are discussed. Recent progress in predicting microstructural evolution using computer modeling is also summarized.