Heat Treatment of Applicable Alloys

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What is precipitation hardening in aluminum alloy systems?

The general requirement for precipitation strengthening of supersaturated solid solutions involves the formation of finely dispersed precipitates during aging heat treatment (which may include either natural aging or artificial aging).

Natural aging is a step in the heat treatment of aluminum alloys in which the metal is removed from the quench bath and allowed to gain its full strength at room temperature. In artificial aging, the metal is held at an elevated temperature for it to gain its full strength in a shorter period of time.