A weldable Al-Mg-Zn-Sc alloy was produced using vacuum induction melting and an argon-protected casting method to achieve high strength and ductility, and the effects of heat treatment on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Zn-Sc alloys were comparatively investigated. The results reveal that fine equiaxed grains with an average grain size of 40 μm in an as-cast Al-Mg-Zn-Sc alloy change little after heat treatments, bringing about a grain-boundary strengthening of 46.1 MPa. The coarse T-Mg32(Al, Zn)49 phases at grain boundaries are completely dissolved into the matrix through solid-solution treatment, and T-Mg32(Al, Zn)49 with diameters ranging from 10 to 25 nm and Al3Sc with diameters ranging from 5 to 20 nm gradually precipitate during the artificial aging process. The Mg solid solubility is 4.67% in the as-cast Al-Mg-Zn-Sc alloy, and it increased to 5.33% after solid-solution treatment and dramatically decreased to 4.15% after post-aging treatment. The contributions of solid-solution strengthening to as-cast, post-solid-solution and post-aging Al-Mg-Zn-Sc alloys are 78.2 MPa, 85.4 MPa and 72.3 MPa, respectively. The precipitation strengthening of the post-aging alloy is 49.7 MPa, which is an increase of 21% in comparison to that of both as-cast and post-solid-solution alloys. The alloy achieves an optimal tensile strength of 355.3 MPa, yield strength of 175 MPa and elongation of 22% after undergoing solid-solution treatment.
Keywords: Al–Mg–Zn–Sc alloys; heat treatments; mechanical properties; microstructure evolution.