Abstract
The 2024-T3 aerospace aluminum alloy has been characterized and annealed by use of modern material characterization, metallographic and heat treatment equipments. The kinetic equations and the Arrhenius-type equation were applied to compute the grain-growth exponent and the activation energies for grain growth for the investigated alloy at specified temperature. The grain-growth exponent n was computed to be in the range of 0.116-0.121 at temperatures in the range of 250-350 degrees C (523-623 K). The activation energy for grain growth, Q(g), for the investigated alloy has been computed to be 157.1 kJ/mol for the mentioned range of n values. The grain-growth kinetic data for the investigated alloy has been compared with other aluminum and engineering alloys: and analyzed in relation to those reported in recent literature. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.