Effect of electric pulse modification on the structure and mechanical properties of Al-5%Cu-0.8%Mn alloy

The structure and mechanical properties of the Al-5% Cu-0.8% Mn alloy conducted by electric pulse modification (EPM) at different parameters were studied by using mechanical testing and fracture analysis. The result shows that all of the specimens treated with EPM exhibit finer microstructure and good mechanical properties. Comparing with the specimens without EPM, the grain numbers per unit area increase more than two times, the tensile strength and elongation increase by 21%-35% and 1.8-2.5 times, respectively, when the pulse parameters are the voltage of 500 V, the time of 30 s and the frequency of 3 Hz.