Granted Patent B2

US 7,125,459 · App. 11/018,262 · Granted Oct 24, 2006

Abstract

Claims (12)

1. A process for thermally treating an article made from an alloy comprising at least aluminum, copper and lithium, the process comprising the acts of:

solid solution heat treating the article;

quenching the article;

heating the article to a first temperature of from about 275 to about 340° F.;

artificially aging the article at the first temperature for a duration of at least 30 minutes; and

artificially aging the article at a second temperature of from about 325 to about 380° F. for a duration of from about 4 hours to about 36 hours, the second temperature being greater than the first temperature by at least 10° F.,

wherein the alloy is an AA2195 alloy.

2. The process of claim 1 further including performing cold work to the article prior to the artificially aging at the first temperature.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the article is solid solution heat treated at a temperature from about 880 to about 1,030° F.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the article is artificially aged at the first temperature for a duration of from about 6 hours to about 50 hours.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the second temperature is greater than the first temperature by from about 15 to about 50° F.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the article is artificially aged at the first temperature of from about 310 to about 330° F. for a duration of from about 12 to about 36 hours and the article is artificially aged at the second temperature of from about 340 to about 355° F. for a duration of from about 4 to about 24 hours.

Assignments (12)