Study of properties of hot and cold rolled Al 8015 alloy processed by sustainable reversible rolling mill

Reversible rolling mill has proven to be a technology that is sustainable throughout the globe. This study is aimed at investigating microstructure and mechanical properties of Al8015 when hot-rolled, and cold-rolled. The plates, 7 mm thick, were annealed at room temperature and fed into the 4-high reversible cold rolling mill to reduce the thickness to 1.2 mm. The changes in the mechanical properties (hardness, ultimate tensile strength, and the yield strength), as well as micro-structural evolution were investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy on the hot and cold rolled samples. The findings revealed that the microstructure of the hot rolled Al8015 in the longitudinal section shows equiaxed grain structure nearly thrice the size of the larger equiaxed grain structure observed from the cold rolled sample. Consequently, the hardness, yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increased in the cold-rolled sample compared to hot-rolled sample. Conclusively, the reversing cold-rolled Al8015 will be better used for commercial applications that requires minimal ductility.