Applying ANOVA and DOE to study the effect of manganese on the hardness and wear rate of artificially aged Al-4.5wt%Cu alloys

Abstract

The addition of manganese may constitute an important means for imparting the mechanical properties of Al-4.5wt%Cu alloys that have been artificially aged. The literature, however, comprises conflicting reports on the effect of manganese on these alloys. Thus, this work tries to reach results that are more conclusive by utilizing statistical approaches such as Design of Experiments and the Analysis of Variance. Accordingly, different percentages of manganese additions under different aging times were investigated in this study for their effect on hardness and wear rate. Manganese was added in concentrations of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1wt%. Following the solution treatment, aging was applied for time durations of 1, 2 and 3 h. Aging temperature was held constant at 200 °C. Results showed that Mn concentration and aging time have significant effect on alloy hardness and wear rate.

Keywords:

• ANOVA
• DOE
• age hardening
• hardness
• wear rate
• aluminum copper