The 2524 aluminum alloy was cold rolled to 70% reduction and then annealed at 500? for 0.5h in an air furnace with a heating rate of 5?/min and in a salt bath with a heating rate of 75?/s, respectively. The effect of heating rate on the microstructure, tensile properties and fatigue crack growth (FCG) rate of the alloy was investigated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy were studied by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy (OM), tensile and FCG rate tests. In the case of slow heating the alloy exhibited a coarse elongated grain structure (~75μm), while a fine equiaxed grain structure (~13μm) was obtained in the case of rapid heating. The sheet annealed with rapid heating has slightly higher tensile strength and yield strength, but a slightly lower elongation than the sheet annealed with slow heating. The FCG rate of the sheet annealed with slow heating is 20% lower than the sheet annealed with rapid heating.

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