Mechanical Read-out of Chemo-Driven Microstructure Evolution: In-situ Kinetics of Precipitation and Static Recrystallization via Elastic Moduli

  • Obermayer, Thomas (AMAG rolling GmbH)
  • Krempaszky, Christian (Lst. f. Werstoffwissenschaften - TU München)
  • Werner, Ewald (Chair of Mechanics - Montanuniversität Leoben)

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Chemo-mechanical coupling in metallic alloys manifests as microstructure evolution driven by chemical potentials and influenced by mechanical fields. We present a unified, stiffness-based in-situ framework to quantify the kinetics of (i) precipitation and phase transformation in age-hardenable Al–Cu alloy AA2219 and (ii) static recrystallization (SRX) in cold-rolled AA1050. The core concept is that precipitates, matrix, and evolving textures exhibit distinct elastic responses; therefore, small but measurable changes in elastic moduli serve as quantitative surrogates for transformed volume fractions. Using the Impulse Excitation Technique (IET)with temperature-aware evaluation, we construct time–temperature–property (TTP)landscapes of quench sensitivity and extract Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) parameters for aging-induced transformations in AA2219. An extended JMAK-fit formulation enables robust kinetic analysis even for incomplete transformations. In parallel, we determine direction-dependent moduli to track SRX kinetics in situ, validated through EBSD and yield-strength evolution. Our approach leverages Voigt homogenization and orthotropic compliance reconstruction to relate E(t), G(t) to phase fractions and texture changes, yielding high sensitivity to early precipitation stages (E ≈ 0.5GPa) and enabling differentiation of precipitate types (θ’ vs. θ). The results reveal clear mechanical signatures of chemo-driven processes- e.g., modulus increases during GP/θ”/θ’ formation, decreases upon θ’→θ coarsening, and anisotropy reductions during SRX- linking processing parameters (solution/interrupt temperature, quench time, annealing temperature) to transformation pathways. Correlation with strength evolution and AMS2772-compliant heat treatments underscores industrial relevance. This efficient, low-overhead methodology complements phase-field and finite-element simulations and conventional characterization, enabling direct, in-situ mechanical readouts of microstructural kinetics.