Structure and Structure Development of Al-Zn Alloys

Age-hardenable aluminium based alloys have several favourable properties, e.g. high electrical conductivity and good strength with respect to their fairly low density. Among them the Al-Zn system is particularly suitable for studying phase transformations in supersaturated solid solutions from both the technological and the physical point of view. The decomposition processes in the Al-Zn system have been studied by many authors over the last three decades. Thus a huge amount of information concerning the behaviour and properties of Al-Zn alloys is available, which can hardly be overlooked. The authors of this book present a well-structured summary of this knowledge. For better understanding of the processes proceeding in Al-Zn alloys, some general features of binary Al alloys as well as a few theoretical aspects of metal physics are given as introducing chapters. The closing chapter presents interesting new developments af Al-based materials.