The aluminum alloy type 5083, which has high corrosion resistance, excellent weldability, and good strength, is widely used in shipbuilding, automotive, aerospace, and industrial construction. The present paper has the aim of establishing a possible correlation between mechanical properties, structural characteristics, and cavitation erosion properties of the 5083 alloy after applying different heat treatments. Different homogenization heat treatments (350 °C, 450 °C) were applied, each followed by cooling in air and artificial aging at different temperature (140 °C and 180 °C) with three maintenance periods, 1 h, 12 h, and 24 h. The experiments concerning cavitation resistance of the experimental samples were completed in accordance with ASTM G32-2016. The cavitation erosion resistance were determined either by analytical diagrams MDER (or MDE) vs. cavity attack duration, or by measuring the maximum erosion attack by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Finally, the best combination of heat treatments applied to cast aluminum products type 5083 is homogenization at 350 °C followed by artificial aging at 180 °C, at which the highest mechanical characteristics are obtained, a resilience of 25 J/cm2, a grain size of 140–180 μm, and a maximum depth of the erosion MDEmax around 14–17 µm.

Aluminum based alloys of the 5xxx series are identified by a high magnesium content (4÷4.9%) which through its compounds can induce special properties of mechanical strength and resistance to various forms of corrosion. The use of 5083 aluminum alloy is especially intended for pressure vessels, products that work in special conditions of temperature and environment with increased aggressiveness, which requires the request in specifications of special properties, especially in the test of resilience. This paper aims to define the best combination of heat treatments, either homogenization or homogenization and artificial aging, in order to obtain the best mechanical and structural characteristics. Two homogenizations were carried out on the cast products (at 350°C and 450° C, respectively), each followed by artificial aging (180°C or 140°C), with different maintenance times, respectively 1h, 12h and 24h). Finally, structural correlations could be made between the values of mechanical properties (yield strength, hardness, tensile strength, elongation, microhardness and resilience) and the grain size corresponding to each structural condition.