Abstract: The crack propagation resistance for alloy 8090 sheet decreases with the increase of content of Na and K impurities.An improvement over the fracture toughness and crack initiation resist- ance for the alloy containing Na and K within certain limit may be made by adding 0.05% Ce.This beneficial modification would not be manifested if the alloy contained more Na and K.One of the reasons why Na and K injure the toughness of the alloy might be due to that they cause the precipitation of T_1 phase along grain and subgrain boundaries and accelerate the abnormal growth of recystallized grains.

Key words: alloy 8090, crack propagation resistance, Na, K, Ce