During forming, thickness reduction and thermal treatment affect the recrystallization and evolution of the crystallographic texture of metallic materials. The present study focuses on the consequences of rolling reduction of a widespread aluminum alloy with numerous automotive, marine and general-purpose applications, namely Al 5182. Emphasis is laid on the crystallographic texture and mechanical properties on both hot and cold-rolled semi-final products. In particular, a 2.8 mm-thick hot-rolled product was examined in the as-received condition, while two cold-rolled sheets, one 1.33 mm and the other 0.214 mm thick, both originating from the 2.8 mm material, were examined in both as-received and annealed (350 °C for 1 h) conditions. Electron back-scatter diffraction indicated the presence of a large percentage of random texture as well as a weak recrystallization texture for the hot-rolled product, whereas in the case of cold rolling the evolution of β-fiber texture was noted. In addition, tensile tests showed that both the anisotropy as well as the mechanical properties of the cold-rolled properties improved after annealing, being comparable to hot-rolled ones.

Bendability is a crucial property of automotive parts, which describes the ability of extruded profiles to be formed to shape, without the appearance of discontinuities that will have an adverse effect on the mechanical properties and their energy absorption capacity (crashworthiness). Anisotropic behavior exhibited by Al alloy extrusions has been documented due to the nature of the hot working process. In the present article an attempt is made in order to determine the main factors influencing bending properties in longitudinal and transverse to extrusion direction, which are also related with anisotropic behavior. Mechanical testing, microscopic examination and finite element analysis were applied in the frame of the current investigation. The findings were indicative that grain morphology and orientation (texture), especially on the surface zone of the extruded profiles, as well as morphology and distribution of the constituent particles are strongly related with formability.

In the current work, a novel medium entropy copper alloy was designed with the aim of avoiding the use of expensive, hazardous or scarce alloying elements and instead employing widely available and cost-effective alternatives. In order to investigate this unknown region of multicomponent alloy compositions, the thermo-physical parameters were calculated and the CALPHAD method was utilized. This led to the design of the Cu₅₀Zn₂₅Al₂₀Sn₅ at. % (Cu_53.45Zn_27.49Al_9.08Sn_9.98 wt. %) alloy with a relatively low density of 6.86 g/cm³ compared with conventional brasses. The designed alloy was manufactured through vacuum induction melting, producing two ingots weighing 1.2 kg each, which were subjected to a series of heat treatments. The microstructural evolution of the alloy in the as-cast and heat-treated conditions was assessed through optical and scanning electron microscopy. The hardness of the as-cast and heat-treated alloy at room temperature was also studied. The alloy was characterized by a multiphase microstructure containing a major Cu-rich (Cu–Zn–Al) matrix reinforced with a secondary Zn-rich (Zn–Cu) phase and pure Sn. In terms of mechanical properties, the developed alloy exhibited high hardness values of roughly 378 HV_0.2 and 499 HV_0.2 in the as-cast and heat-treated conditions, respectively.