Effect of Zr content and mechanical working on the structure and tensile properties of AA8090 alloy plates

Aluminium–lithium (Al–Li)-based alloy, equivalent to AA8090 specification, was cast and processed to 12–90 mm thick semi-finished products by upset forging and rolling. Increasing the Zr content within the AA8090 specification from ∼0.06 to ∼0.12% resulted in refinement of the as-cast grain structure, and improvement in in-plane and short transverse tensile properties. The in-plane tensile properties of the wrought products increased, while the short transverse tensile properties decreased, with increasing plastic strain during mechanical working. A total strain in the range 1.5–2.2 is suggested as the optimum one for obtaining a good balance of tensile properties in the two orientations studied.