Effects of annealing temperature and time on the microstructural evolution and corresponding mechanical properties of 5083 Al alloy deformed at cryogenic and room temperatures

Abstract The effects of annealing temperature and time in 5083 Al alloy deformed at cryogenic temperature were investigated and compared with alloys deformed at room temperature. It was found that mechanical properties of deformed and annealed alloys were mainly influenced by the volume fraction of recrystallized grains. The formation of a bimodal microstructure, consisting of equiaxed grains and elongated subgrains, seems to be responsible for the good combination of uniform elongation and tensile strength. Additionally, the small variation of hardness for annealing temperatures of 300–400 °C indicates that mechanical properties of 5083 Al alloy deformed and annealed are significantly influenced by the volume fraction of recrystallized grains rather than by the coarsening of recrystallized grains.