Update on New Aerospace Products for Arconic’s Very Thick Plate Stretcher

A new very thick plate (VTP) stretcher has recently been installed and commissioned at Arconic’s Davenport Works, Iowa, allowing larger structural components to be machined out of a single plate. The stretching process is required for all aerospace aluminum alloy plate products to reduce internal stresses & improve flatness. The characteristics of the new stretcher (pull force and cross-sectional capability) exceed those of other existing stretchers anywhere in the world. This new equipment together with additional upgrades and other parts of the manufacturing flow path enable expanded product offerings for high strength aluminum alloy plate for a range of applications - including commercial and military aircraft, launch vehicles, and spacecraft. To that end, 7xxx plate products with increased thickness and width are being developed and commercialized such as 7085-T7451 up to at least 10in thick and 7050-T7451 up to at least 9in thick. A range of property results including damage tolerance measurements will be presented for these products along with a detailed timeline for commercialization. In these new sizes, 7085-T7451 continues to show the highest combination of strength and toughness over any other product. Separately, the properties of 7050-T7451 in both wider widths and greater thicknesses are also very attractive for legacy applications that currently use hand or die forgings.