Aluminium alloys are now widely preferred in industrial applications due to their low density and high strength values. The properties of these alloys can be further improved by precipitation hardening heat treatment. For this purpose, the temperature and time used in the precipitation hardening process plays a very effective role on the performance of the material. Therefore, in this study, the effects of artificial aging heat treatment on mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of AAXXX alloy were investigated. The effects of artificial aging time on microstructure and mechanical properties of alloy were analysed and at the same time corrosion behaviour was tried to be determined by corrosion tests. For experimental investigations, the alloy samples prepared in appropriate sizes were heated to 540°C (± 0.5°C) with heating rate 10°C/min. by electrical resistance ceramic furnace. For the solution heat treatment, samples were kept in the furnace at this temperature for 4 hours. The samples taken from the furnace were firstly poured into iced water at 10°C and then subjected to artificial aging at 190°C for 2, 4, 6, 10, 12 and 24 hours. Finally, the samples taken from the furnace were left to cool down in stagnant air. The results show that the mechanical properties and the corrosion resistance of the alloy increase with the increase of artificial aging time. The hardness of commercial alloy of 43 BHN is increased to 98 BHN and the corrosion resistance of the commercial alloy increased from 0.1753 mm/year to 0,0123 mm/year at a temperature of 190°C at 10-hour aging period.
