Residual Stress Distribution of Non-Uniform Quenching in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu Aluminum Alloy Thick Plate

Effect of multi-section linear non-uniform heat transfer coefficient on quenching residual stress distribution in 27mm-thick Al-Zn-Mg-Cu aluminum alloy plate was simulation studied by using the finite element method, and the surface quenching residual stress distribution was measured by the X-ray diffraction method and hole-drilling method. The results show that the surface quenching residual stress represents the same distribution with non-uniform heat transfer coefficient in the transverse direction and the stress level maintains initial stress level of the heat transfer coefficient at each location. The distribution of the quenching residual stress in the center of the plate is approximately uniform and the stress level is approximately equal to average of maximum and minimum initial stress level. The measured surface quenching residual stress shows a wavy distribution in the transverse direction, which is similar to the simulated surface stress distribution without considering the stress level. The measurement results can be explained by the multi-section linear non-uniform quenching model.