Students: Apply for this Summer 2026 research team by selecting the researcher's name
Aluminum Thermo-Mechanical Processing
Dates: May 25-July 17 (8 weeks, flexible)Aluminum alloy 7075 is widely used in airplanes and high-performance gear because it is strong but also lightweight. This project will explore how the alloy’s strength and flexibility change as it goes through different heat treatments and forming processes. We will explore two questions:
- How the room temperature delay from stretching aluminum in the solution heat treated condition to when it is aged at elevated temperature impacts final strength.
- How a modified thermal aging process as described in a US patent impacts the formability of 7075 sheet material and its final strength after being fully aged.
Student outcomes
Students will engage in sample processing, mechanical testing, and data analysis to quantify the material property impacts. They will learn hardness and formability testing, sample machining, tensile testing, and data analysis as well as experimental techniques and documentation. They will present the results in a student research forum.
This work is supported by a 2026 Gonzaga Research Opportunity award.
This research takes place in the Materials Lab.
