Quenching of Aluminum Alloys

This article aims to describe the media, procedures, and techniques applied to quenching for heat treatment of aluminum alloys besides problems related to this specific process. This article presents important topics such as quench sensitivity, cooling curves analysis, showing experimental apparatus details, influence of probe format and comparison between probe types used in quenching, and problems related to surface oxidation due quenching. Polymer quenchants types are analyzed besides quenching parameters. There is a discussion related to surface rewetting and its importance for quenching successful. Different quenching process are presented like “uphill” process comparing as cryo quenching, ultrasonic agitation, and ionic liquids besides topics related to corrosion types and residual stress after quenching.