CN121002203A - High-recyclability aluminum alloys for automotive skin - Google Patents

Abstract

Aluminum alloys, metal products made using the aluminum alloys, and methods of processing the aluminum alloys are disclosed. The disclosed alloys can be prepared using a large amount of recovery content, such as up to 100% recovery content. The disclosed aluminum alloys contain greater amounts of iron and manganese than comparable aluminum alloys typically made by alloying raw aluminum. For example, the disclosed aluminum alloys can include a ratio of the total amount of Mn and Cr to the amount of Fe greater than 0.6. The disclosed aluminum alloys may be produced by casting a 6xxx aluminum alloy to produce a cast product, which may then be processed to produce a rolled product.

Description

High recovery content aluminum alloy for automotive skins

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. provisional application No. 63/488,836, filed 3/7 at 2023, which provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to metallurgy, and more particularly to aluminum alloys with high recovery content.

Background

High forming aluminum alloys are used in many different applications, particularly in applications where strength and durability are desired. For example, 6xxx series aluminum alloys are widely used in automotive applications due to their excellent combination of properties, including strength to weight ratio, formability, weldability, and general corrosion resistance. The 6xxx series aluminum alloys are commonly used in place of steel for automotive structural and closure panel applications. Since aluminum alloys are typically about 2.8 times less dense than steel, the use of such materials reduces the weight of the vehicle and significantly improves its fuel economy. Even so, the use of currently available aluminum alloys in automotive applications still faces certain challenges.

Disclosure of Invention

The term embodiment and similar terms are intended to refer broadly to all subject matter of the present disclosure and the following claims. Statements containing these terms should not be construed as limiting the subject matter described herein or limiting the meaning or scope of the following claims. Embodiments of the disclosure encompassed herein are defined by the following claims rather than the present disclosure. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the present disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the detailed description section that follows. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood with reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all of the accompanying drawings, and each claim.

Aluminum alloys and metal products produced using these aluminum alloys are described herein. In certain aspects, methods of making metal products are also described. In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Al, mn, cr, and Fe. The ratio of the total amount of Mn and Cr to the amount of Fe may be greater than 0.6. The aluminum alloy may be a 6xxx series aluminum alloy. In some examples, the aluminum alloy can also include Zn such that the ratio of the total amount of Mn, cr, and Zn to the amount of Fe is greater than 0.6. In some examples, the ratio may be greater than 0.7. In some aspects, the aluminum alloy may contain more intermetallic particles containing alpha phase Fe than beta phase Fe.

At least a portion of the aluminum alloy may include recycled aluminum alloy content. In some examples, the aluminum alloy may include up to 100% recovered aluminum content or more than 20% recovered aluminum content (e.g., by weight). Without limitation, the aluminum alloy may include 20% to 100% recycled aluminum alloy content (e.g., by weight), such as 20% to 25%, 25% to 30%, 30% to 35%, 35% to 40%, 40% to 45%, 45% to 50%, 50% to 55%, 55% to 60%, 60% to 65%, 65% to 70%, 70% to 75%, 75% to 80%, 80% to 85%, 85% to 90%, 90% to 95%, or 95% to 100%.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Zn in an amount up to about 0.045 wt.% (such as about 0.035 wt.% to 0.045 wt.%). For example, zn may be present in an amount of 0.0350 wt% to 0.0355 wt%, 0.0355 wt% to 0.0360 wt%, 0.0360 wt% to 0.0365 wt%, 0.0365 wt% to 0.0370 wt%, 0.0370 wt% to 0.0375 wt%, 0.0375 wt% to 0.0380 wt%, 0.0380 wt% to 0.0385 wt%, 0.0385 wt% to 0.0390 wt%, 0.0390 wt% to 0.0395 wt%, 0.0395 wt% to 0.040 wt%, 0.040 wt% to 0.0405 wt%, 0.0405 wt% to 0.0410 wt%, 0.0415 wt% to 0.0415 wt%, 0.0415 wt% to 0.0420 wt%, 0.0420 wt% to 0.0425 wt%, 0.0425 wt% to 0.0430 wt%, 0.0430 wt% to 0.0435 wt%, 0.0435 wt% to 0.0440 wt%, 0.0440 wt% to 0.0445 wt% or 0.0445 wt% to 0.0445 wt% of the aluminum alloy.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Cr in an amount up to 0.14 wt.% (such as about 0.025 wt.% to 0.03 wt.%). For example, cr may be present in 0.00 wt% to 0.005 wt%, 0.005 wt% to 0.010 wt%, 0.010 wt% to 0.015 wt%, 0.015 wt% to 0.020 wt%, 0.020 wt% to 0.025 wt%, 0.025 wt% to 0.030 wt%, 0.030 wt% to 0.035 wt%, 0.035 wt% to 0.040 wt%, 0.040 wt% to 0.045 wt%, 0.045 wt% to 0.050 wt%, 0.050 wt% to 0.055 wt%, 0.055 wt% to 0.060 wt%, 0.060 wt% to 0.065 wt%, 0.065 wt% to 0.070 wt%, 0.070 wt% to 0.025 wt%, 0.075 wt% to 0.080 wt%, 0.080 wt% to 0.085 wt%, 0.085 wt% to 0.090 wt%, 0.040 wt% to 0.045 wt%, 0.045 wt% to 0.050 wt%, 0.050 wt% to 0.055 wt%, 0.055 wt% to 0.060 wt%, 0.0705 wt% to 0.070 wt%, 0.070 wt% to 0.125 wt% of alloy, 0.100 wt% to 0.125 wt% or 0.100 wt% to 0.125 wt% of 0.100 wt% to 0.115 wt%.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Mn in an amount of up to 0.4 wt.% (such as 0.15 wt.% to 0.25 wt.%), at least 0.2 wt.%, or at least 0.3 wt.%. For example, the number of the cells to be processed, mn may be 0.00 wt% to 0.01 wt%, 0.01 wt% to 0.02 wt%, 0.02 wt% to 0.03 wt%, 0.03 wt% to 0.04 wt%, 0.04 wt% to 0.05 wt%, 0.05 wt% to 0.06 wt%, 0.06 wt% to 0.07 wt%, 0.07 wt% to 0.08 wt%, 0.08 wt% to 0.09 wt%, 0.09 wt% to 0.10 wt%, 0.11 wt% to 0.12 wt%, 0.12 wt% to 0.13 wt%, 0.13 wt% to 0.14 wt%, 0.14 wt% to 0.15 wt%, 0.15 wt% to 0.16 wt%, 0.16 wt% to 0.17 wt%, 0.17 wt% to 0.18 wt%, 0.18 wt% to 0.19 wt% to 0.20 wt%, 0.20 wt% to 0.21 wt% >, and the like an amount of 0.21 wt% to 0.22 wt%, 0.22 wt% to 0.23 wt%, 0.23 wt% to 0.24 wt%, 0.24 wt% to 0.25 wt%, 0.25 wt% to 0.26 wt%, 0.26 wt% to 0.27 wt%, 0.27 wt% to 0.28 wt%, 0.28 wt% to 0.29 wt%, 0.29 wt% to 0.30 wt%, 0.30 wt% to 0.31 wt%, 0.31 wt% to 0.32 wt%, 0.32 wt% to 0.33 wt%, 0.33 wt% to 0.34 wt%, 0.34 wt% to 0.35 wt%, 0.35 wt% to 0.36 wt%, 0.36 wt% to 0.37 wt% to 0.38 wt%, 0.38 wt% to 0.39 wt%, or 0.39 wt% to 0.40 wt% is present in the aluminum alloy.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Fe in an amount of up to 0.45 wt.% (such as between about 0.3wt.% and 0.35 wt.%). For example, the number of the cells to be processed, fe may be present in an amount of 0.00 wt% to 0.01 wt%, 0.01 wt% to 0.02 wt%, 0.02 wt% to 0.03 wt%, 0.03 wt% to 0.04 wt%, 0.04 wt% to 0.05 wt%, 0.05 wt% to 0.06 wt%, 0.06 wt% to 0.07 wt%, 0.07 wt% to 0.08 wt%, 0.08 wt% to 0.09 wt%, 0.09 wt% to 0.10 wt%, 0.11 wt% to 0.12 wt%, 0.12 wt% to 0.13 wt%, 0.13 wt% to 0.14 wt%, 0.14 wt% to 0.15 wt%, 0.15 wt% to 0.16 wt%, 0.16 wt% to 0.17 wt%, 0.17 wt% to 0.18 wt%, 0.18 wt% to 0.19 wt% to 0.20 wt%, 0.20 wt% to 0.21 wt%, 0.21 wt% to 0.22 wt%, 0.22 wt% to 0.23 wt% >, 0.23 wt% to 0. the aluminum alloy is present in an amount of 0.23 wt% to 0.24 wt%, 0.24 wt% to 0.25 wt%, 0.25 wt% to 0.26 wt%, 0.26 wt% to 0.27 wt%, 0.27 wt% to 0.28 wt%, 0.28 wt% to 0.29 wt%, 0.29 wt% to 0.30 wt%, 0.30 wt% to 0.31 wt%, 0.31 wt% to 0.32 wt%, 0.32 wt% to 0.33 wt%, 0.33 wt% to 0.34 wt%, 0.34 wt% to 0.35 wt%, 0.35 wt% to 0.36 wt%, 0.36 wt% to 0.37 wt%, 0.37 wt% to 0.38 wt%, 0.38 wt% to 0.39 wt%, 0.39 wt% to 0.40 wt%, 0.40 wt% to 0.41 wt%, 0.41 wt% to 0.42 wt%, 0.43 wt% to 0.43 wt%, 0.43 wt% to 0.44 wt% or 0.44 wt% to 0.45 wt% of the aluminum alloy.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Mg in an amount of about 0.38 wt.% to 0.65 wt.%. For example, mg may be present in 0.38 wt% to 0.39 wt%, 0.39 wt% to 0.40 wt%, 0.40 wt% to 0.41 wt%, 0.41 wt% to 0.42 wt%, 0.42 wt% to 0.43 wt%, 0.43 wt% to 0.44 wt%, 0.44 wt% to 0.45 wt%, 0.45 wt% to 0.46 wt%, 0.46 wt% to 0.47 wt%, 0.47 wt% to 0.48 wt%, 0.48 wt% to 0.49 wt%, 0.49 wt% to 0.50 wt%, 0.50 wt% to 0.51 wt%, 0.51 wt% to 0.52 wt%, 0.52 wt% to 0.53 wt%, 0.53 wt% to 0.54 wt%, 0.54 wt% to 0.55 wt%, 0.55 wt% to 0.56 wt%, 0.56 wt% to 0.57 wt%, 0.57 wt% to 0.58 wt%, 0.58 wt% to 0.61 wt%, 0.61 wt% to 0.61 wt%, or 0.61 wt% to 0.61 wt% of aluminum.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Si in an amount of about 0.65 wt.% to 1.2 wt.%. For example, the number of the cells to be processed, si may be present in an amount of 0.65 wt% to 0.66 wt%, 0.66 wt% to 0.67 wt%, 0.67 wt% to 0.68 wt%, 0.68 wt% to 0.69 wt%, 0.69 wt% to 0.70 wt%, 0.70 wt% to 0.71 wt%, 0.71 wt% to 0.72 wt%, 0.72 wt% to 0.73 wt%, 0.73 wt% to 0.74 wt%, 0.74 wt% to 0.75 wt%, 0.75 wt% to 0.76 wt%, 0.76 wt% to 0.77 wt%, 0.77 to 0.78 wt%, 0.78 to 0.79 wt%, 0.79 to 0.80 wt%, 0.80 to 0.81 wt%, 0.81 to 0.82 wt%, 0.82 to 0.83 wt%, 0.83 to 0.84 wt%, 0.84 to 0.85 wt%, 0.85 to 0.86 wt%, 0.87 to 0.88 wt%, 0.88 to 0.89 wt%, 0.89 to 0.90 wt%, 0.90 to 0.91 wt%, and 0.91 to 0.92 wt%, 0.92 to 0.93 wt%, 0.93 to 0.94 wt%, 0.94 to 0.95 wt%, 0.95 to 0.96 wt%, 0.96 to 0.97 wt%, 0.97 to 0.98 wt%, 0.98 to 0.99 wt%, 0.99 to 1.00 wt%, 1.00 to 1.01 wt%, 1.01 to 1.02 wt%, 1.02 to 1.03 wt%, 1.03 to 1.04 wt%, 1.04 to 1.05 wt%, 1.05 to 1.06 wt%, 1.06 to 1.07 wt%, 1.07 to 1.08 wt%, 1.08 to 1.09 to 1.10 wt%, 1.10 to 1.11 wt%, 1.12 to 1.13 wt%, 1.13 to 1.01 wt%, 1.03 to 1.04 wt%, 1.04 to 1.05 wt%, 1.05 to 1.06 wt%, 1.07 wt% to 1.08 wt%, 1.08 to 1.09 wt%, 1.10 to 1.11 wt%, 1.13 to 1.13 wt%, 1.13 to 14.16 wt%, and 16 to 1.16.15 to 1.16 wt%, 1.16 to 1.15.16 wt% to 1.15 wt% of the composition, an amount of 1.18 wt.% to 1.19 wt.% or 1.19 wt.% to 1.20 wt.% is present in the aluminum alloy.

In some examples, the aluminum alloy can include Cu in an amount of about 0.04 wt.% to 0.17 wt.%. For example, cu may be present in 0.04 wt.% 0.045 wt.%, 0.045 wt.% to 0.050 wt.%, 0.050 wt.% to 0.055 wt.%, 0.055 wt.% to 0.060 wt.%, 0.065 wt.% to 0.070 wt.%, 0.070 wt.% to 0.075 wt.%, 0.075 wt.% to 0.080 wt.%, 0.085 wt.% to 0.090 wt.%, 0.095 wt.% to 0.100 wt.%, 0.100 to 0.105 wt.%, 0.105 wt.% to 0.110 wt.%, 0.110 wt.% to 0.115 wt.%, 0.115 wt.% to 0.120 wt.%, 0.120 wt.% to 0.125 wt.%, 0.125 wt.% to 0.130 wt.%, 0.135 wt.% to 0.140 wt.%, 0.140 wt.% to 0.145 wt.%, 0.145 wt.% to 0.150 wt.%, 0.155 wt.% to 0.155 wt.%, 0.155 wt.% to 0.165 wt.% of aluminum, or 0.17 wt.% to 0.165 wt.% of the alloy.

In some examples, ti may be present in the aluminum alloy in an amount of about 0.03 wt.% to about 0.04 wt.% Ti. For example, ti may be present in the aluminum alloy in an amount of 0.030 wt.% to 0.031 wt.%, 0.031 wt.% to 0.032 wt.%, 0.032 wt.% to 0.033 wt.%, 0.033 wt.% to 0.034 wt.%, 0.034 wt.% to 0.035 wt.%, 0.035 wt.% to 0.036 wt.%, 0.036 wt.% to 0.037 wt.%, 0.037 wt.% to 0.038 wt.%, 0.038 wt.% to 0.039 wt.%, or 0.039 wt.% to 0.04 wt.%.

Also described herein are metal products, such as metal products comprising aluminum alloys (such as those described herein). The disclosed metal products may be processed into any desired shape or form. In a specific example, the metal product includes a transportation body component. The disclosed metal products may be made using any suitable processing method wherein the aluminum alloy is processed using various processing steps to produce the metal product. In some cases, the metal product is a rolled metal product. Optionally, the metal product is a dual recrystallized metal product. The metal product may exhibit suitable properties, such as mechanical or physical properties or characteristics, which may be advantageous for various end uses or implementations. In some examples, the metal product may be a transportation body part or an automotive body part.

Methods of producing metal products from the above aluminum alloys are described herein. In some examples, a method of producing a metal product may include casting an aluminum alloy to produce a cast product, homogenizing the cast product to produce a homogenized product, and hot rolling the homogenized product to produce a rolled product. After hot rolling, the method may include subjecting the rolled product to a recrystallization process and cold rolling the rolled product one or more times to produce a metal product. In some examples, the recrystallization process may be performed immediately after the hot rolling step. Furthermore, the method may comprise cold rolling the rolled product one or more times before the recrystallization process. During the recrystallization process, the rolled product may have a gauge of about 3.5mm to 5 mm. For example, the rolled product may have a gauge of about 3.5mm、3.55mm、3.40mm、3.45mm、3.50mm、3.55mm、3.60mm、3.65mm、3.75mm、3.80mm、3.85mm、3.90mm、3.95mm、4.00mm、4.05mm、4.10mm、4.15mm、4.25mm、4.30mm、4.35mm、4.40mm、4.45mm、4.50mm、4.55mm、4.60mm、4.65mm、4.70mm、4.75mm、4.80mm、4.85mm、4.90mm、4.95mm or 5 mm.

In some examples, the recrystallization process may involve subjecting the rolled product to a temperature of about 350 ℃ to about 500 ℃ for up to 20 minutes. For example, the number of the cells to be processed, the temperature range may be 350 ℃ to 355 ℃, 355 ℃ to 360 ℃, 360 ℃ to 365 ℃, 365 ℃ to 370 ℃, 375 ℃ to 380 ℃, 380 ℃ to 385 ℃, 385 ℃ to 390 ℃, 390 ℃ to 395 ℃, 395 ℃ to 400 ℃, 400 ℃ to 405 ℃, 405 ℃ to 410 ℃, 410 ℃ to 415 ℃, 415 ℃ to 420 ℃, 420 ℃ to 425 ° 425 to 430 ℃, 430 to 435 ℃, 435 to 440 ℃, 440 to 445 ℃, 445 to 450 ℃, 450 to 455 ℃, 455 to 460 ℃, 460 to 465 ℃, 465 to 470 ℃, 470 to 475 ℃, 475 to 480 ℃, 480 to 485 ℃, 485 to 490 ℃, 490 to 495, or 495 to 500 ℃. In examples, the recrystallization process may last from 0 to 1 minute, from 1 to 2 minutes, from 2 to 3 minutes, from 3 to 4 minutes, from 4 to 5 minutes, from 5 to 6 minutes, from 6 to 7 minutes, from 7 to 8 minutes, from 8 to 9 minutes, from 9 to 10 minutes, from 10 to 11 minutes, from 11 to 12 minutes, from 12 to 13 minutes, from 13 to 14 minutes, from 14 to 15 minutes, from 15 to 16 minutes, from 16 to 17 minutes, from 17 to 18 minutes, from 18 to 19 minutes, or from 19 to 20 minutes.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting examples.

Drawings

The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like or similar parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 provides a schematic illustration of an example method for manufacturing a rolled aluminum alloy product.

FIG. 2 provides a schematic illustration of a process for making an aluminum alloy article.

Fig. 3 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 4 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 5 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 6 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 7 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 8 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 9 shows the weight percent phases of various aluminum alloy samples measured at different temperatures.

Fig. 10 shows the measured critical temperatures for various aluminum alloy samples.

FIG. 11 shows the measured precipitate solvus (solvus) temperatures for various aluminum alloy samples.

Detailed Description

Aluminum alloys, metal products made using the aluminum alloys, and methods of processing the aluminum alloys are described herein. The disclosed alloys can be prepared using a large amount of recycled aluminum alloy content, such as up to 100% recycled content. The disclosed aluminum alloys contain more iron and manganese than comparable aluminum alloys typically made by alloying raw aluminum. Specifically, the disclosed aluminum alloys may include a ratio of the total amount of manganese and chromium to the amount of iron greater than 0.6. Increasing the ratio of manganese to iron reduces the detrimental effects of increasing the amount of iron in the aluminum alloy. For example, such a ratio may maximize the presence of the alpha phase as a major increase in intermetallic phases to reduce the detrimental effects of intermetallic compounds in bending. Furthermore, the disclosed aluminum alloys can be subjected to hot rolling and recrystallization processes that at least partially facilitate desired bending, shaping, and surface properties and characteristics of metal products made using the disclosed aluminum alloys.

The aluminum alloy used for recycling may contain a mixture of various aluminum alloys or an unknown amount of various aluminum alloys. In some cases, contaminants may also be present in the aluminum alloy used for recycling. For example, the aluminum alloy used for recycling may correspond to a scrap aluminum source, such as scrap car aluminum, or an industrial scrap source, such as Remelted Scrap Ingot (RSI), extruded profiles, aluminum plates, brazing scrap, and casting alloy scrap.

By increasing the amount of recycled aluminum content that can be included in the aluminum alloys described herein, while still retaining good physical and mechanical properties, so that the aluminum alloys can be used as metal products for specific applications (e.g., as vehicle bodies or structural panels), the energy requirements and carbon footprint for preparing the metal products can be significantly reduced. By way of example, the alloys and processing techniques described herein may be used to produce aluminum alloy sheet metal or other metal products having desired bending characteristics, strength characteristics, forming characteristics (e.g., isotropic forming properties), and the like.

The 6xxx series aluminum alloys are commonly used for automotive or structural applications. In general, various grades of aluminum alloys (e.g., AA6016 or AA 6005) are not prepared using high quantities of recycled aluminum. For example, for certain elements (e.g., fe and Mn), the elemental limits in some 6xxx series aluminum alloy products are typically lower than those commonly found in recycled aluminum alloy materials. In other words, adding a certain amount of recycled aluminum content to an aluminum alloy destined to be a particular 6xxx series aluminum alloy product (e.g., AA6016 or AA6005 product) may require the use of large amounts of virgin aluminum to ensure that certain elements (e.g., fe and Mn) are contained not exceeding those limits defined by the product or alloy designation. When the 6xxx series aluminum alloy products contain significant amounts of secondary aluminum content, the alloy grade may be different from the grade commonly used in certain applications. When such 6 xxx-series aluminium alloys containing a large recovery content are processed according to the techniques commonly used for preparing products using products containing alloys containing no or a small recovery material (e.g. AA6016 or AA 6005), the resulting products may have different mechanical and physical characteristics than products made using reference alloys (e.g. AA6016 or AA 6005). For example, when using large amounts of recovered content, an increase in the amount of Fe and Mn can sometimes result in an increase in intermetallic particles in the aluminum alloy, thereby preventing the effectiveness of the recrystallization process and resulting in a change in strength, formability, or other characteristics when the alloy is prepared according to common processing techniques.

However, the alloys described herein overcome these challenges by containing specific amounts of certain elements (e.g., iron and manganese) while still retaining beneficial properties, allowing for the use of large amounts of recycled content materials. For example, even if a large amount of recycled material is used prior to the final cold rolling step, a particular processing scheme (such as one employing one or more hot rolling steps prior to the final cold rolling step) may be used to impart desired properties (e.g., bending properties, forming properties, strength properties, and/or surface characteristics) to the resulting aluminum alloy product even when a large amount of recycled content is used for its preparation. Advantageously, these alloys can be prepared by using a large recovery content to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the final product as compared to preparing the same final product using a large amount of raw aluminum.

Definition and description:

As used herein, the terms "invention," "the invention," "this invention," and "the invention" are intended to refer broadly to all subject matter of this patent application and the appended claims. Statements containing these terms should not be construed as limiting the subject matter described herein or limiting the meaning or scope of the following patent claims.

In this specification, reference is made to alloys identified by AA number and other related designations (such as "series" or "7 xxx"). For an understanding of the number plate system most commonly used to name and identify aluminum and its alloys, see "International Alloy Designations and Chemical Composition Limits for Wrought Aluminum and Wrought Aluminum Alloys" or "Registration Record of Aluminum Association Alloy Designations and Chemical Compositions Limits for Aluminum Alloys in the Form of Castings and Ingot",, both issued by the aluminum association.

As used herein, a plate generally has a thickness greater than about 15 mm. For example, a plate may refer to an aluminum product having a thickness greater than about 15mm, greater than about 20mm, greater than about 25mm, greater than about 30mm, greater than about 35mm, greater than about 40mm, greater than about 45mm, greater than about 50mm, or greater than about 100 mm.

As used herein, a sauter board (shate) (also referred to as a sheet board) typically has a thickness of about 4mm to about 15mm. For example, the thickness of the sauter board can be about 4mm, about 5mm, about 6mm, about 7mm, about 8mm, about 9mm, about 10mm, about 11mm, about 12mm, about 13mm, about 14mm, or about 15mm.

As used herein, sheet generally refers to an aluminum product having a thickness of less than about 4 mm. For example, the thickness of the sheet may be less than about 4mm, less than about 3mm, less than about 2mm, less than about 1mm, less than about 0.5mm, or less than about 0.3mm (e.g., about 0.2 mm).

References are made in this disclosure to alloy temper or condition. For an understanding of the most commonly used Alloy state description, please see "American National Standards (ANSI) H35 on Alloy AND TEMPER Designation Systems". The F condition or state refers to the manufactured aluminum alloy. O conditions or states refer to the aluminum alloy after annealing. Hxx conditions or states (also referred to herein as H states) refer to non-heat treatable aluminum alloys with or without heat treatment (e.g., annealing) after cold rolling. Suitable H states include HX1, HX2, HX3, HX4, HX5, HX6, HX7, HX8, or HX9 states. The T1 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy that has been cooled from hot working and subjected to natural aging (e.g., at room temperature). The T2 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy cooled from hot working, cold worked, and naturally aged. T3 temper or state refers to an aluminum alloy that has been solution heat treated, cold worked and naturally aged. T4 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy that has been solution heat treated and naturally aged. The T5 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy cooled from hot working and subjected to artificial aging (at high temperature). T6 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy that has been solution heat treated and artificially aged. T7 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy that has been solution heat treated and artificially aged too much. T8x conditions or states refer to aluminum alloys that have been solution heat treated, cold worked, and artificially aged. T9 condition or state refers to an aluminum alloy that has been solution heat treated, artificially aged, and cold worked. The W condition or state refers to the aluminum alloy after solution heat treatment.

As used herein, terms such as "cast metal product," "cast aluminum alloy product," and the like are interchangeable and refer to a product produced by direct chill casting (including direct chill co-casting) or semi-continuous casting, continuous casting (including, for example, by use of a twin belt caster, twin roll caster, block caster, or any other continuous casting machine), electromagnetic casting, hot top casting, or any other casting method.

As used herein, the meaning of "room temperature" may include temperatures of about 15 ℃ to about 30 ℃, such as about 15 ℃, about 16 ℃, about 17 ℃, about 18 ℃, about 19 ℃, about 20 ℃, about 21 ℃, about 22 ℃, about 23 ℃, about 24 ℃, about 25 ℃, about 26 ℃, about 27 ℃, about 28 ℃, about 29 ℃, or about 30 ℃. As used herein, the meaning of "ambient conditions" may include a temperature of approximately room temperature, a relative humidity of about 20% to about 100%, and an atmospheric pressure of about 975 millibars (mbar) to about 1050 mbar. For example, the relative humidity may be about 20%, about 21%, about 22%, about 23%, about 24%, about 25%, about 26%, about 27%, about 28%, about 29%, about 30%, about 31%, about 32%, about 33%, about 34%, about 35%, about 36%, about 37%, about 38%, about 39%, about 40%, about 41%, about 42%, about 43%, about 44%, about 45%, about 46%, about 47%, about 48%, about 49%, about 50%, about 51%, about 52%, about 53%, about 54%, about 55%, about 56%, about 57%, about 58%, about 59%, about 60%, about 61%, about 62%, about 63%, about 64%, about 65%, about 66%, about 67%, about 68%, about 69%, about 70%, about 71%, about 72%, about 73%, about 74%, about 75%, about 76%, about 77%, about 78%, about 79%, about 80%, about 81%, about 82%, about 83%, about 84%, about 85%, about 86%, about 87%, about 88%, about 89%, about 90%, about 91%, about 92%, about 93%, about 94%, about 96%, about 98%, about 95%, about 100% or any value therebetween. For example, the atmospheric pressure may be about 975mbar, about 980mbar, about 985mbar, about 990mbar, about 995mbar, about 1000mbar, about 1005mbar, about 1010mbar, about 1015mbar, about 1020mbar, about 1025mbar, about 1030mbar, about 1035mbar, about 1040mbar, about 1045mbar, about 1050mbar or any value therebetween.

All ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all subranges subsumed therein. For example, a specified range of "1 to 10" should be considered to include any and all subranges between (and including 1 and 10) the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10, i.e., all subranges start with a minimum value of 1 or more (e.g., 1 to 6.1) and end with a maximum value of 10 or less (e.g., 5.5 to 10). Unless otherwise indicated, when referring to the compositional amount of an element, the expression "up to" means that the element is optional and includes zero percent composition of that particular element. All compositional percentages are weight percent (wt%) unless otherwise indicated.

As used herein, the meaning of "a," "an," and "the" includes singular and plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In the examples below, aluminum alloy products and components thereof may be described in terms of their elemental composition in weight percent (wt%). In each alloy, the remainder was aluminum, with the maximum wt% of the sum of all impurities being 0.15%.

Incidental elements (such as grain refiners and deoxidizers) or other additives may be present in the present invention and other features may be added by themselves without departing from or significantly altering the features of the alloys described herein or alloys described herein.

Due to the inherent nature of aluminum or leaching upon contact with processing equipment, small amounts of unavoidable impurities, including materials or elements, may be present in the alloy. Some alloys as described may contain no more than about 0.25 wt.% of any element in addition to the alloying elements, incidental elements, and unavoidable impurities.

Method for producing and preparing alloy and aluminum alloy products

The aluminum alloy products described herein can be prepared using suitable methods. For example, the aluminum alloy may be cast, homogenized, hot rolled using a bloom mill (break-down mill) and a continuous mill (TANDEM MILL), or hot rolled using only a bloom mill, cold rolled, heat treated, formed, etc., to produce an aluminum alloy product.

FIG. 1 provides an overview of an example method of making an aluminum alloy product. The method of fig. 1 begins at 105 with casting an aluminum alloy 106 to form a cast aluminum alloy product 107, such as an ingot or other cast product. At 110, the cast aluminum alloy product 107 is homogenized to form a homogenized aluminum alloy product 111. At 115, homogenized aluminum alloy product 111 is subjected to one or more hot rolling passes and/or one or more cold rolling passes to form a rolled aluminum alloy product 112, which may correspond to an aluminum alloy article, such as an aluminum alloy sheet, aluminum alloy sandy plate, or aluminum alloy sheet. Optionally, the rolled aluminum alloy product 112 is subjected to additional processing steps as described below to form an aluminum alloy article.

The alloys described herein may be cast using any suitable casting method known to one of ordinary skill in the art. As a few non-limiting examples, the casting process may include a Direct Chill (DC) casting process or a Continuous Casting (CC) process. For example, fig. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a DC casting process at 105, although other casting processes may be used. The continuous casting system may include a pair of moving opposing casting surfaces (e.g., moving opposing belts, rolls, or blocks), a casting cavity between the pair of moving opposing casting surfaces, and a molten metal injector. The molten metal injector may have an end opening from which molten metal may exit the molten metal injector and be injected into the casting cavity.

Cast aluminum alloy products, such as ingots, billets, or other cast products, may be processed by any suitable means. Such processing steps include, but are not limited to, homogenization, hot rolling, cold rolling, solution heat treatment, and optionally pre-aging steps.

In the homogenizing step, the cast aluminum alloy product is homogenized to form a homogenized aluminum alloy product. During homogenization, the cast product may be heated to a temperature in the range of about 400 ℃ to about 565 ℃. For example, the cast product may be heated to about 400 ℃, about 410 ℃, about 420 ℃, about 430 ℃, about 440 ℃, about 450 ℃, about 460 ℃, about 470 ℃, about 480 ℃, about 490 ℃, about 500 ℃, about 510 ℃, about 520 ℃, about 530 ℃, or about 540 ℃, up to 565 ℃. The product may then be allowed to soak (e.g., remain at a specified temperature) for a period of time to form a homogenized product. In some examples, the total time of the homogenization step (including the heating stage and the soaking stage) may be up to 72 hours. For example, in a homogenization step for a total time of up to 18 hours, the product may be heated to up to 500 ℃ to 565 ℃ and soaked. Optionally, in the homogenization step for a total time of over 18 hours, the product may be heated to below 490 ℃ and soaked. In some cases, the homogenizing step includes a plurality of processes. In some non-limiting examples, the homogenizing step includes heating the cast product to a first temperature for a first period of time and then to a second temperature for a second period of time. For example, the cast product may be heated to about 465 ℃ for about 3.5 hours and then heated to about 480 ℃ for about 6 hours. In some cases, the homogenization process and the casting process are combined into an in situ homogenization mold casting.

The homogenized aluminum alloy product is subjected to one or more roll-bonding passes (roll bonding pass) and/or one or more hot rolling passes (hot rolling passes) to form a rolled aluminum alloy product, which may correspond to an aluminum alloy article, such as an aluminum alloy sheet, aluminum alloy sandy plate, or aluminum alloy sheet. The roll bonding process may be performed in different ways. For example, the roll bonding process may include both hot and cold rolling. Additionally, the roll-bonding process may be a one-step process or a multi-step process in which the gauge of the material is reduced during successive rolling steps. The individual rolling steps may optionally be separated by other processing steps including, for example, annealing steps, cleaning steps, heating steps, cooling steps, and the like.

The homogenized product may be allowed to cool to a temperature between 380 ℃ and 500 ℃ before hot rolling begins. For example, the homogenized product may be cooled to a temperature between 400 ℃ and 425 ℃. The homogenized product may then be hot rolled at a temperature between 250 ℃ and 500 ℃ to form a hot rolled plate, hot rolled sauter plate, or hot rolled sheet having a gauge between 2mm and 200mm (e.g., ,2mm、3mm、4mm、5mm、6mm、7mm、8mm、9mm、10mm、15mm、20mm、25mm、30mm、35mm、40mm、45mm、50mm、55mm、60mm、65mm、70mm、75mm、80mm、85mm、90mm、95mm、100mm、110mm、120mm、130mm、140mm、150mm、160mm、170mm、180mm、190mm、200mm or any value in between).

Optionally, the cast product may be a continuous cast product that may be allowed to cool to a temperature between 300 ℃ and 450 ℃. For example, the continuously cast product may be allowed to cool to a temperature between 325 ℃ and 425 ℃ or from 350 ℃ to 400 ℃. The continuously cast product may then be hot rolled at a temperature between 300 ℃ and 450 ℃ to form a hot rolled sheet, hot rolled sauter plate, or hot rolled sheet having a gauge between 3mm and 200mm (e.g., ,3mm、4mm、5mm、6mm、7mm、8mm、9mm、10mm、15mm、20mm、25mm、30mm、35mm、40mm、45mm、50mm、55mm、60mm、65mm、70mm、75mm、80mm、85mm、90mm、95mm、100mm、110mm、120mm、130mm、140mm、150mm、160mm、170mm、180mm、190mm、200mm or any value therebetween). During hot rolling, the temperature and other operating parameters may be controlled such that the temperature of the hot rolled intermediate product upon exiting the hot rolling mill is no more than about 450 ℃, no more than about 440 ℃, or no more than about 430 ℃.

The cast, homogenized or hot rolled product may be subjected to a break down (break down) process or a break down and tandem process. Optionally, a preliminary cold rolling process may be used after the hot rolling process, the decomposition process, and or the decomposition and tandem process. The preliminary cold rolling process may use a cold rolling mill to cold roll aluminum products into thinner products, such as cold rolled sheets. The cold rolled product may have a gauge of between about 0.1mm to 7mm (e.g., between about 0.7mm to 6.5 mm). Optionally, the cold rolled product may have a gauge of 0.5mm, 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm, 2.5mm, 3.0mm, 3.5mm, 4.0mm, 4.5mm, 5.0mm, 5.5mm, 6.0mm, 6.5mm, 7.0 mm. The preliminary cold rolling may be performed to result in a final gauge thickness that represents a gauge reduction of at most 95% (e.g., a reduction of at most 10%, at most 20%, at most 30%, at most 40%, at most 50%, at most 55%, at most 60%, at most 70%, at most 75%, at most 80%, or at most 85%, or at most 90%, at most 95%, or at most 99%) compared to the gauge prior to the start of the preliminary cold rolling.

After the cold rolling process, a recrystallization process may optionally be used. In some cases, the product after the hot rolling process, the decomposition process, and/or the decomposition/tandem process is subjected to a recrystallization process. The recrystallization process may be any suitable treatment (e.g., an intermediate annealing process) that results in at least partial recrystallization to produce a recrystallized aluminum product. The intermediate annealing process may include subjecting an unrecrystallized aluminum product (e.g., a hot rolled product or a cold rolled product) to a heat treatment at a predetermined temperature between 350 ℃ and 500 ℃ for a period of time less than or equal to about 120 minutes to produce a recrystallized aluminum product. For example, as part of the annealing or recrystallization process, the cast, homogenized, hot rolled, or cold rolled product may be heated to a temperature of up to 495 ℃ for a period of up to 20 minutes. In some examples, the temperature may be about 350 ℃ to about 500 ℃, such as 300 ℃ to 305 ℃, 305 ℃ to 310 ℃,310 ℃ to 315 ℃, 315 ℃ to 320 ℃, 320 ℃ to 325 ℃, 325 ℃ to 330 ℃, 335 ℃ to 340 ℃, 340 ℃ to 345 ℃, 345 ℃ to 350 ℃, 350 ℃ to 355 ℃, 355 ℃ to 360 ℃, 360 ℃ to 365 ℃, 365 ℃ to 370 ℃, 375 ℃ to 380 ℃, 380 ℃ to 385 ℃, 385 to 390 ℃, 390 to 395 ℃, 395 to 400 ℃, 400 to 405 ℃, 405 to 410 ℃, 410 to 415 ℃, 415 to 420 ℃, 420 to 425 ℃, 425 to 430 ℃, 430 to 435 ℃, 435 to 440 ℃, 440 to 445 ℃, 445 to 450 ℃, 450 to 455 ℃, 455 to 460 ℃, 460 to 465 ℃, 465 to 470 ℃, 470 ℃ to 475 ℃, 475 ℃ to 480 ℃, 480 ℃ to 485 ℃, 485 ℃ to 490 ℃, 490 ℃ to 495 ℃, or 495 ℃ to 500 ℃. Any suitable rate of temperature change may be used to heat to and/or cool from a specified temperature. In some examples, the product is heated to the temperature for about 0.1 seconds to about 25 minutes, such as 0.1 seconds to 0.5 seconds, 0.5 seconds to 1 second, 1 second to 2 seconds, 2 seconds to 3 seconds, 3 seconds to 4 seconds, 4 seconds to 5 seconds, 5 seconds to 10 seconds, 10 seconds to 15 seconds, 15 seconds to 30 seconds, 30 seconds to 45 seconds, 45 seconds to 60 seconds, 60 seconds to 75 seconds, 75 seconds to 90 seconds, 90 seconds to 105 seconds, 105 seconds to 2 minutes, 2 minutes to 3 minutes, 3 minutes to 4 minutes, 4 minutes to 5 minutes, 5 minutes to 10 minutes, 10 minutes to 15 minutes, 15 minutes to 20 minutes, 20 to 25 minutes, 25 to 30 minutes, 35 to 40 minutes, 40 to 45 minutes, 45 to 50 minutes, 55 to 60 minutes, 60 to 65 minutes, 65 to 70 minutes, 70 to 75 minutes, 75 to 80 minutes, 85 to 90 minutes, 90 to 95 minutes, 95 to 100 minutes, 100 to 105 minutes, 105 to 110 minutes, 110 to 115 minutes, or 115 to 120 minutes. In some cases, this may indicate that the temperature is maintained at or about the specified temperature for a period of time, or within 5 ℃ or 10 ℃ of the specified temperature. In some examples, a temperature or temperature range may be paired with a particular duration or time range. For example, the temperature may be 440 ℃ to 485 ℃ and the duration less than or equal to 10 minutes, the temperature may be 450 ℃ to 475 ℃ and the duration less than 1 minute, or the temperature may be 470 ℃ to 475 ℃ and the duration 2 seconds to 35 seconds. Any variation or combination of the above temperatures and durations may be used, and certain alloy or end product configurations may benefit from a particular temperature and duration combination or range of particular temperatures and durations. During the recrystallization process, the product may have a gauge of about 3.5mm to 5 mm. For example, the product may have a gauge of 3.5mm, 3.6mm, 3.7mm, 3.8mm, 3.9mm, 4.0mm, 4.1mm, 4.2mm, 4.3mm, 4.4mm, 4.5mm, 4.6mm, 4.7mm, 4.8mm, 4.9mm, or 5.0 mm.

The recrystallization process may include passing the cast, homogenized, or rolled product through a furnace at a speed of about 10 to about 150m/min, such as 10 to 15m/min, 15 to 20m/min, 20 to 25m/min, 25 to 30m/min, 30 to 40m/min, 40 to 45m/min, 45 to 50m/min, 50 to 60m/min, 60 to 70m/min, 70 to 80m/min, 80 to 90m/min, 90 to 100m/min, 100 to 110m/min, 110 to 120m/min, 120 to 130m/min, 130 to 140m/min, or 140 to 150 m/min. In some cases, the recrystallization process may include heating the cast, homogenized, or rolled product by passing the product through a gas furnace. In some cases, the recrystallization process may include or use a magnetic heating device having a heating rate of 10 ℃ per second to 150 ℃ per second. Optionally, the recrystallization process may include obtaining a quenching process (e.g., water quenching or air quenching) using a cooling rate of 5 ℃ per second to 150 ℃ per second or higher to return the product to ambient or room temperature. Cold rolling the product after the recrystallization process can produce an unrecrystallized aluminum product having deformed grains. One or more cold rolling steps may be performed to produce a final gauge thickness that represents a 25% to 99% gauge reduction (e.g., 25% to 30%, 30% to 35%, 35% to 40%, 40% to 45%, 45% to 50%, 50% to 55%, 55% to 60%, 60% to 65%, 65% to 70%, 70% to 75%, 75% to 80%, 80% to 85%, 85% to 90%, 90% to 95%, or 95% to 99% reduction) compared to the gauge prior to cold rolling. In some embodiments, the cold rolling process may achieve 55% to 75%, 25% to 90%, 45% to 95%, or 60% to 99% cold compression.

Subsequently, the cast, homogenized or rolled product may be subjected to a solution heat treatment step. The solution heat treatment step may be any treatment suitable for sheet that results in solutionizing of the soluble particles. The cast, homogenized, or rolled product may be heated to a Peak Metal Temperature (PMT) of up to 590 ℃ (e.g., 400 ℃ to 590 ℃) and soaked under the PMT for a period of time to form a hot product. For example, a cast, homogenized, or rolled product may be soaked at 480 ℃ for a soaking time of up to 30 minutes (e.g., 0 seconds, 60 seconds, 75 seconds, 90 seconds, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, or 30 minutes). After heating and soaking, the hot product is rapidly cooled to a temperature between 500 ℃ and 200 ℃ at a rate greater than 200 ℃ per second to form a heat treated product. In one example, the hot product is cooled to a temperature between 450 ℃ and 200 ℃ at a quench rate of greater than 200 ℃ per second. Optionally, in other cases, the cooling rate may be faster.

After quenching, the heat treated product may optionally be subjected to a pre-ageing treatment by reheating prior to winding. The pre-ageing treatment may be performed at a temperature of about 50 ℃ to about 125 ℃ for a period of up to 6 hours. For example, the pre-aging treatment may be conducted at a temperature of about 50 ℃, about 55 ℃, about 60 ℃, about 65 ℃, about 70 ℃, about 75 ℃, about 80 ℃, about 85 ℃, about 90 ℃, about 95 ℃, about 100 ℃, about 105 ℃, about 110 ℃, about 115 ℃, about 120 ℃, or about 125 ℃. Optionally, the pre-ageing treatment may be carried out for about 30 minutes, about 1 hour, about 2 hours, about 3 hours, about 4 hours, about 5 hours or about 6 hours. The pre-ageing treatment may be performed by passing the heat treated product through heating means, such as means emitting radiant heat, convective heat, inductive heat, infrared heat, etc.

The cast product described herein may be used to make a product in the form of a sheet, plate, or other suitable product. For example, a slab comprising a product as described herein may be prepared by processing an ingot in a homogenization step or casting the product in a continuous caster, followed by a hot rolling step. In the hot rolling step, the cast product may be hot rolled to a gauge of 200mm thickness or less (e.g., about 10mm to about 200 mm). For example, the cast product may be hot rolled into a sheet having a final gauge thickness of about 10mm to about 175mm, about 15mm to about 150mm, about 20mm to about 125mm, about 25mm to about 100mm, about 30mm to about 75mm, or about 35mm to about 50mm. In some cases, the sheet may be rolled into a thinner metal product, such as a sheet.

Fig. 2 provides a graph illustrating example temperatures of a cast metal product during various stages of a manufacturing process according to aspects of the present disclosure. As part of the initial casting stage 205, in which molten metal forms an ingot, cast article, or other solid object or metal product, the molten metal may be cooled and/or solidified by a process involving quenching or cooling the metal that exposes the metal to water or aqueous solutions, such as in a direct chill casting process or in a continuous casting process that includes quenching immediately after casting.

After the casting stage 205, the metal product may be subjected to a homogenization process 210 in which the metal is heated to a temperature below the melting or solidus temperature of the metal. Optionally, the metal product is heated to a temperature at which the base metal and any alloying elements form a solid solution.

After homogenization process 210, the metal product may be exposed to one or more processes that may, for example, form a desired microcrystalline structure within the metal product while elongating the metal product. Such processes may correspond to, for example, hot rolling 215 and/or cold rolling 220, such as, for example, to form a sauter plate, or sheet from a metal ingot or other cast product or metal product.

In some embodiments, exposing the metal product at an elevated temperature to a solution, such as water, an aqueous solution or a gas, a gas mixture, or a gas phase solution, in a quenching or cooling process may be used to reduce the temperature of the metal product to a temperature that is desirable or available for subsequent processes. For example, exposing the metal product to water or an aqueous solution may be used to cool the metal product between the hot rolling process 215 and subsequent processing. The tandem and/or split process is not shown in fig. 2, but may be performed at any temperature suitable for such a process.

After the hot rolling process 215 and/or the cold rolling process 220 (the cold rolling process 220 may be optional), the metal product may be subjected to an intermediate annealing heat treatment process 225, wherein the metal product is heated to and maintained at a predetermined temperature for a period of less than or equal to one hour to produce at least partial recrystallization of the metal product. The metal product may be subjected to an additional cold rolling process 230, optionally after the intermediate annealing heat treatment process 225. Various peak temperatures may be used for the intermediate annealing heat treatment process 225, as shown in fig. 2, which may depend, for example, on the particular alloy of the metal product and/or the particular mechanical or physical properties desired for the final product.

The metal product may then be subjected to a solution heat treatment process 235, wherein the temperature of the metal product is raised to a temperature above a threshold temperature, such as a temperature at which precipitated components in the metal product dissolve into solid solution or a temperature at which a recrystallization process is performed, and maintained at or above the threshold temperature for a period of time. At the end of the solution heat treatment process 235, the metal product may be subjected to a quenching process 240, wherein the dissolved components are held in place by rapidly reducing the temperature of the metal by the quenching process. Such quenching process 240 may involve exposing the metal product to a solution, such as a quenching solution comprising water, an aqueous solution, or a gas or gas mixture.

In embodiments, the process outlined in fig. 2 may be performed discretely, or as part of one or more continuous processing lines, wherein the metal product may be transported in the form of a web, film, or web of material between processing stages. For example, the metal product may be transported between stages by rolling the metal product (which may be under tension) over or between one or more rollers or by transporting the metal product on one or more conveyors. In addition, other stages not explicitly identified may include before, between, and/or after any of the stages identified in fig. 2. Other example stages include, but are not limited to, a series and/or decomposition stage, a washing stage, a chemical treatment stage, or a finishing stage. As an example, the finishing stage may correspond to a surface anodization stage, a powder coating stage, a paint spraying stage, a printing stage, and the like.

Methods of using the disclosed aluminum alloy products

The aluminum alloy products described herein are useful in automotive applications and other transportation applications, including aircraft and railway applications. For example, the disclosed aluminum alloy products can be used to make automotive structural parts such as bumpers, side rails, roof rails, cross rails, pillar reinforcements (e.g., a-, B-, and C-pillars), interior panels, exterior panels, side panels, interior covers, exterior covers, or trunk lid panels. The aluminum alloy products and methods described herein can also be used in aircraft or rail vehicle applications to make, for example, exterior and interior panels.

The aluminum alloy products and methods described herein may also be used in electronic applications. For example, the aluminum alloy products and methods described herein can be used to prepare housings for electronic devices, including mobile phones and tablet computers. In some examples, aluminum alloy products may be used to prepare housings for mobile phones (e.g., smart phones), tablet chassis, and other portable electronic devices.

Method for treating metals and metal alloys

Methods of treating metals and metal alloys (including aluminum, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, magnesium composites, steel, and the like), and the resulting treated metals and metal alloys are described herein. In some examples, the metal used in the methods described herein includes an aluminum alloy, such as a 1xXX series aluminum alloy, a 2xXX series aluminum alloy, a 3xXX series aluminum alloy, a 4xXX series aluminum alloy, a 5xXX series aluminum alloy, a 6xXX series aluminum alloy, a 7xXX series aluminum alloy, or an 8xXX series aluminum alloy. In some examples, the materials used in the methods described herein include nonferrous metal materials, including aluminum, aluminum alloys, magnesium-based materials, magnesium alloys, magnesium composites, titanium-based materials, titanium alloys, copper-based materials, composite materials, sheets used in composite materials, or any other suitable metal, nonmetal, or combination of materials. Monolithic materials as well as non-monolithic materials (such as roll bond materials, clad alloys, clad layers, composite materials such as, but not limited to, materials comprising carbon fibers) or various other materials may also be used with the methods described herein. In some examples, an aluminum alloy comprising iron may be used with the methods described herein.

By way of non-limiting example, an exemplary 1 xxx-series aluminum alloy for use in the methods described herein may include AA1100、AA1100A、AA1200、AA1200A、AA1300、AA1110、AA1120、AA1230、AA1230A、AA1235、AA1435、AA1145、AA1345、AA1445、AA1150、AA1350、AA1350A、AA1450、AA1370、AA1275、AA1185、AA1285、AA1385、AA1188、AA1190、AA1290、AA1193、AA1198 or AA1199.

Non-limiting exemplary 2xxx series aluminum alloys for use in the methods described herein may include AA2001、AA2002、AA2004、AA2005、AA2006、AA2007、AA2007A、AA2007B、AA2008、AA2009、AA2010、AA2011、AA2011A、AA2111、AA2111A、AA2111B、AA2012、AA2013、AA2014、AA2014A、AA2214、AA2015、AA2016、AA2017、AA2017A、AA2117、AA2018、AA2218、AA2618、AA2618A、AA2219、AA2319、AA2419、AA2519、AA2021、AA2022、AA2023、AA2024、AA2024A、AA2124、AA2224、AA2224A、AA2324、AA2424、AA2524、AA2624、AA2724、AA2824、AA2025、AA2026、AA2027、AA2028、AA2028A、AA2028B、AA2028C、AA2029、AA2030、AA2031、AA2032、AA2034、AA2036、AA2037、AA2038、AA2039、AA2139、AA2040、AA2041、AA2044、AA2045、AA2050、AA2055、AA2056、AA2060、AA2065、AA2070、AA2076、AA2090、AA2091、AA2094、AA2095、AA2195、AA2295、AA2196、AA2296、AA2097、AA2197、AA2297、AA2397、AA2098、AA2198、AA2099 or AA2199.

Non-limiting exemplary 3 xxx-series aluminum alloys for use in the methods described herein may include AA3002、AA3102、AA3003、AA3103、AA3103A、AA3103B、AA3203、AA3403、AA3004、AA3004A、AA3104、AA3204、AA3304、AA3005、AA3005A、AA3105、AA3105A、AA3105B、AA3007、AA3107、AA3207、AA3207A、AA3307、AA3009、AA3010、AA3110、AA3011、AA3012、AA3012A、AA3013、AA3014、AA3015、AA3016、AA3017、AA3019、AA3020、AA3021、AA3025、AA3026、AA3030、AA3130 or AA3065.

Non-limiting exemplary 4xxx series aluminum alloys used in the methods described herein may include AA4045、AA4004、AA4104、AA4006、AA4007、AA4008、AA4009、AA4010、AA4013、AA4014、AA4015、AA4015A、AA4115、AA4016、AA4017、AA4018、AA4019、AA4020、AA4021、AA4026、AA4032、AA4043、AA4043A、AA4143、AA4343、AA4643、AA4943、AA4044、AA4145、AA4145A、AA4046、AA4047、AA4047A or AA4147.

Non-limiting exemplary 5xxx series aluminum alloys for use in the methods described herein may include AA5182、AA5183、AA5005、AA5005A、AA5205、AA5305、AA5505、AA5605、AA5006、AA5106、AA5010、AA5110、AA5110A、AA5210、AA5310、AA5016、AA5017、AA5018、AA5018A、AA5019、AA5019A、AA5119、AA5119A、AA5021、AA5022、AA5023、AA5024、AA5026、AA5027、AA5028、AA5040、AA5140、AA5041、AA5042、AA5043、AA5049、AA5149、AA5249、AA5349、AA5449、AA5449A、AA5050、AA5050A、AA5050C、AA5150、AA5051、AA5051A、AA5151、AA5251、AA5251A、AA5351、AA5451、AA5052、AA5252、AA5352、AA5154、AA5154A、AA5154B、AA5154C、AA5254、AA5354、AA5454、AA5554、AA5654、AA5654A、AA5754、AA5854、AA5954、AA5056、AA5356、AA5356A、AA5456、AA5456A、AA5456B、AA5556、AA5556A、AA5556B、AA5556C、AA5257、AA5457、AA5557、AA5657、AA5058、AA5059、AA5070、AA5180、AA5180A、AA5082、AA5182、AA5083、AA5183、AA5183A、AA5283、AA5283A、AA5283B、AA5383、AA5483、AA5086、AA5186、AA5087、AA5187 or AA5088.

Non-limiting exemplary 6xxx series alloys for use in the methods described herein may include AA6101、AA6101A、AA6101B、AA6201、AA6201A、AA6401、AA6501、AA6002、AA6003、AA6103、AA6005、AA6005A、AA6005B、AA6005C、AA6105、AA6205、AA6305、AA6006、AA6106、AA6206、AA6306、AA6008、AA6009、AA6010、AA6110、AA6110A、AA6011、AA6111、AA6012、AA6012A、AA6013、AA6113、AA6014、AA6015、AA6016、AA6016A、AA6116、AA6018、AA6019、AA6020、AA6021、AA6022、AA6023、AA6024、AA6025、AA6026、AA6027、AA6028、AA6031、AA6032、AA6033、AA6040、AA6041、AA6042、AA6043、AA6151、AA6351、AA6351A、AA6451、AA6951、AA6053、AA6055、AA6056、AA6156、AA6060、AA6160、AA6260、AA6360、AA6460、AA6460B、AA6560、AA6660、AA6061、AA6061A、AA6261、AA6361、AA6162、AA6262、AA6262A、AA6063、AA6063A、AA6463、AA6463A、AA6763、AA6963、AA6064、AA6064A、AA6065、AA6066、AA6068、AA6069、AA6070、AA6081、AA6181、AA6181A、AA6082、AA6082A、AA6182、AA6091 or AA6092.

Non-limiting exemplary 7xXX series aluminum alloys for use in the methods described herein can include AA7011、AA7019、AA7020、AA7021、AA7039、AA7072、AA7075、AA7085、AA7108、AA7108A、AA7015、AA7017、AA7018、AA7019A、AA7024、AA7025、AA7028、AA7030、AA7031、AA7033、AA7035、AA7035A、AA7046、AA7046A、AA7003、AA7004、AA7005、AA7009、AA7010、AA7011、AA7012、AA7014、AA7016、AA7116、AA7122、AA7023、AA7026、AA7029、AA7129、AA7229、AA7032、AA7033、AA7034、AA7036、AA7136、AA7037、AA7040、AA7140、AA7041、AA7049、AA7049A、AA7149、AA7204、AA7249、AA7349、AA7449、AA7050、AA7050A、AA7150、AA7250、AA7055、AA7155、AA7255、AA7056、AA7060、AA7064、AA7065、AA7068、AA7168、AA7175、AA7475、AA7076、AA7178、AA7278、AA7278A、AA7081、AA7181、AA7185、AA7090、AA7093、AA7095 or AA7099.

Non-limiting exemplary 8xXX series aluminum alloys for use in the methods described herein can include AA8005、AA8006、AA8007、AA8008、AA8010、AA8011、AA8011A、AA8111、AA8211、AA8112、AA8014、AA8015、AA8016、AA8017、AA8018、AA8019、AA8021、AA8021A、AA8021B、AA8022、AA8023、AA8024、AA8025、AA8026、AA8030、AA8130、AA8040、AA8050、AA8150、AA8076、AA8076A、AA8176、AA8077、AA8177、AA8079、AA8090、AA8091 or AA8093.

The examples disclosed herein will be used to further illustrate aspects of the invention while not constituting any limitation of the invention. On the contrary, it is to be clearly understood that resort may be had to various embodiments, modifications, and equivalents thereof which, after reading the description herein, may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The examples and embodiments described herein may also utilize conventional procedures unless otherwise indicated. Some of the procedures are described herein for illustrative purposes.

Example 1

Conventional casting techniques are used to prepare ingots comprising AA 6005C-alloy and AA 6016-alloy. Samples of aluminum alloy sheet metal were prepared from ingots by homogenization, hot rolling, and cold rolling, with an intermediate anneal recrystallization process during cold rolling.

The reference AA6005C sample contained 0.68 wt% Si, 0.17 wt% Cu and 0.62 wt% Mg. The first AA6005C sample contained 0.65 wt.% Si, 0.40 wt.% Fe, 0.12 wt.% Cu, 0.25 wt.% Mn, 0.55 wt.% Mg, 0.025 wt.% Cr, 0.035 wt.% Zn, and 0.03 wt.% Ti. The first AA6005 sample represents the lower limit of elements in the casting. The second AA6005C sample contained 0.70 wt.% Si, 0.45 wt.% Fe, 0.17 wt.% Cu, 0.3 wt.% Mn, 0.65 wt.% Mg, 0.03 wt.% Cr, 0.045 wt.% Zn, and 0.04 wt.% Ti. The second AA6005C sample represents the upper limit of elements in the casting. The first and second AA6005C samples were designed to balance the amounts of Mg and Si according to the amount of Fe. In addition, the first and second AA6005C samples were intended to balance Fe and Mn, to promote alpha phase and lower Cr limits, as compared to other reference alloys. For example, the first AA6005C sample composition was designed to target (mn+cr)/Fe >0.55. The second AA6005C sample composition increased the Mn content to 0.3 wt.% to achieve a target ratio of (mn+cr)/Fe >0.7, exploring the complete alpha intermetallic concept.

The reference AA6016 sample contained 1.125 wt% Si, 0.09 wt% Cu, 0.16 wt% Mn, 0.43 wt% Mg, 0.015 wt% Cr, and 0.02 wt% Ti. The first AA6016 sample contained 1.00 wt.% Si, 0.3 wt.% Fe, 0.04 wt.% Cu, 0.15 wt.% Mn, 0.38 wt.% Mg, 0.025 wt.% Cr, 0.035 wt.% Zn, and 0.03 wt.% Ti. The first AA6016 sample represents the lower limit of elements in the casting. The second AA6016 sample contained 1.20 wt.% Si, 0.35 wt.% Fe, 0.14 wt.% Cu, 0.20 wt.% Mn, 0.48 wt.% Mg, 0.03 wt.% Cr, 0.045 wt.% Zn, and 0.04 wt.% Ti. The second AA6016 sample represents the upper limit of elements in the casting. The first and second AA6016 samples were intended to balance Fe and Mn to promote alpha phase and lower Cr limits compared to other reference alloys. For example, the first and second AA6016 sample compositions were designed to target (mn+cr)/Fe >0.6.

Jmatpro was used to evaluate various sample components to simulate phases in various alloys and to determine various properties of the alloys. Figure 3 shows the weight percent phases of reference AA6005C samples measured at different temperatures. Figure 4 shows the weight percent phase of the first AA6005C sample measured at different temperatures. Figure 5 shows the weight percent phase of a second AA6005C sample measured at different temperatures. Figure 6 shows the weight percent phase of a third AA6005C sample measured at different temperatures. The first and second AA6005C samples indicated that the major increase in intermetallic compounds was in the alpha phase. The third AA6005C sample had the lowest β phase.

Fig. 7 shows the weight percent phases of reference AA6016 samples measured at different temperatures. Fig. 8 shows the weight percent phase of the first AA6016 sample measured at different temperatures. Fig. 9 shows the weight percent phase of a second AA6016 sample measured at different temperatures. The first and second AA6016 samples showed that the major increase in intermetallic compounds was in the αα phase. Furthermore, the presence of beta phase is significantly reduced during 400-500 ℃.

Figure 10 shows the critical temperatures determined for AA6005C and AA6016 samples. Figure 11 shows the determined solid solvus temperatures of the precipitate for AA6005C and AA6016 samples. The solvus temperature of the AA6005C sample appears to be controlled by Mg ₂ Si, while the solvus temperature of the AA6016 sample appears to be controlled by Si. The solvus temperatures of both groups of samples were slightly lower than their control samples. The results indicate that increasing Fe and Mn can increase the α fraction, and that the sample contains more intermetallic particles containing α -phase Fe than β -phase Fe. No undesired phases were formed in the new samples. In addition, as Fe, mn and Cr increase, the solvus temperature slightly increases.

Illustrative aspects

As used hereinafter, any reference to a series of aspects (e.g., "aspects 1-4") or an unrecited set of aspects (e.g., "any preceding or subsequent aspect") should be understood to be a separate reference to each of those aspects (e.g., "aspects 1-4" should be understood to be "aspects 1,2,3, or 4").

Aspect 1 is an aluminum alloy comprising Al, mn, cr, and Fe, wherein the ratio of the total amount of Mn and Cr to the amount of Fe is greater than 0.6, and wherein at least a portion of the aluminum alloy comprises a recovered aluminum content.

Aspect 2 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, wherein the aluminum alloy is a 6xXx series aluminum alloy.

Aspect 3 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising about 0.65 wt.% to about 1.2 wt.% Si, up to about 0.45 wt.% Fe, 0.04 wt.% to 0.17 wt.% Cu, up to about 0.4 wt.% Mn, about 0.4 wt.% to about 0.65 wt.% Mg, up to about 0.14 wt.% Cr, up to about 0.045 wt.% Zn, up to about 0.04 wt.% Ti, and the balance Al and unavoidable impurities.

Aspect 4 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, further comprising Zn, wherein the ratio of the total amount of Mn, cr, and Zn to the amount of Fe is greater than 0.6.

Aspect 5 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising about 0.035 wt.% to 0.045 wt.% Zn.

Aspect 6 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising up to 0.14 wt.% Cr.

Aspect 7 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising about 0.025 wt.% to 0.03 wt.% Cr.

Aspect 8 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising up to 0.4 wt.% Mn.

Aspect 9 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising about 0.15 wt.% to 0.25 wt.% Mn.

Aspect 10 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising at least 0.2 wt.% Mn.

Aspect 11 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising up to 0.3 wt.% Mn.

Aspect 12 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising up to 0.45 wt.% Fe.

Aspect 13 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising about 0.3 wt.% to 0.35 wt.% Fe.

Aspect 14 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, wherein the ratio is greater than 0.7.

Aspect 15 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, wherein the aluminum alloy includes up to 50% recovered aluminum content.

Aspect 16 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, further comprising about 0.4 wt.% to 0.65 wt.% Mg.

Aspect 17 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, further comprising about 0.65 wt.% to 1.2 wt.% Si.

Aspect 18 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, further comprising about 0.04 wt.% to 0.17 wt.% Cu.

Aspect 19 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, further comprising about 0.03 wt.% to 0.04 wt.% Ti.

Aspect 20 is the aluminum alloy of any preceding or subsequent aspect, comprising more intermetallic particles comprising alpha phase Fe than intermetallic particles comprising beta phase Fe.

Aspect 21 is a metal product comprising the aluminum alloy of any preceding aspect.

Aspect 22 is a transportation body component comprising a metal product as described in any preceding or subsequent aspect.

Aspect 23 is a method of producing a metal product from an aluminum alloy as set forth in any preceding or subsequent aspect, the method comprising casting the aluminum alloy to produce a cast product, homogenizing the cast product to produce a homogenized product, hot rolling the homogenized product to produce a rolled product, after hot rolling, subjecting the rolled product to a recrystallization process, wherein the rolled product has a gauge of about 3.5mm to 5mm during the recrystallization process, and cold rolling the rolled product one or more times to produce the metal product.

Aspect 24 is the method of any preceding or subsequent aspect, wherein the recrystallization process comprises subjecting the rolled product to a temperature of from about 350 ℃ to about 500 ℃ for up to 20 minutes.

Aspect 25 is the method of any preceding or subsequent aspect, wherein the recrystallization process comprises subjecting the rolled product to a temperature of from about 350 ℃ to about 450 ℃ for up to 20 minutes.

Aspect 26 is the method of any preceding or subsequent aspect, the recrystallisation process occurring immediately after the hot rolling step.

Aspect 27 is the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising cold rolling the rolled product one or more times prior to the recrystallization process.

Aspect 28 is a metal product made according to the method of any preceding aspect.

Aspect 29 is an automotive body part comprising the metal product of any preceding aspect.

All patents and publications cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. The foregoing description of the embodiments, including the illustrated embodiments, has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise forms disclosed. Numerous modifications, variations and uses of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (29)

1. An aluminum alloy comprising Al, Mn, Cr and Fe, wherein the ratio of the total amount of Mn and Cr to the amount of Fe is greater than 0.6, and wherein at least a portion of the aluminum alloy comprises recycled aluminum. 2. The aluminum alloy as described in claim 1, wherein the aluminum alloy is a 6xxx series aluminum alloy. 3. The aluminum alloy as described in claim 1, comprising: From about 0.65 wt% to about 1.2 wt% Si, At most about 0.45% by weight Fe, 0.04 wt% to 0.17 wt% Cu, At most about 0.4% by weight of Mn, From about 0.38 wt% to about 0.65 wt% Mg, At most about 0.14% by weight of Cr, At most about 0.045% by weight of Zn, At most about 0.04% by weight Ti, and The remaining portion consists of Al and unavoidable impurities. 4. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, further comprising Zn, wherein the ratio of the total amount of Mn, Cr and Zn to the amount of Fe is greater than 0.6. 5. The aluminum alloy of claim 4, comprising about 0.035% to 0.045% by weight of Zn. 6. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein it contains up to 0.14% by weight of Cr. 7. The aluminum alloy of claim 6, wherein it contains about 0.025% to 0.03% by weight of Cr. 8. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein it contains up to 0.4% by weight of Mn. 9. The aluminum alloy of claim 8, wherein it contains about 0.15% to 0.3% by weight of Mn. 10. The aluminum alloy of claim 8, wherein it contains at least 0.2% by weight of Mn. 11. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein it contains up to 0.3% by weight of Mn. 12. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein it contains up to 0.45% by weight of Fe. 13. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein it contains about 0.3% to 0.4% by weight of Fe. 14. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein the ratio is greater than 0.7. 15. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein the aluminum alloy contains up to 100% recycled aluminum. 16. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, further comprising about 0.38% to 0.65% Mg. 17. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, further comprising about 0.65% to 1.2% by weight of Si. 18. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, further comprising about 0.04% to 0.17% by weight of Cu. 19. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, further comprising about 0.03% to 0.04% by weight of Ti. 20. The aluminum alloy of claim 1, wherein it contains more intermetallic compound particles containing α-phase Fe than intermetallic compound particles containing β-phase Fe. 21. A metal product comprising the aluminum alloy according to any one of claims 1-20. 22. A transport vehicle body component comprising the metal product of claim 21. 23. A method for producing metal products from the aluminum alloy according to any one of claims 1-20, the method comprising: The aluminum alloy is cast to produce a cast product; The casting product is homogenized to produce a homogenized product; The homogenized product is hot-rolled to produce a rolled product; Following hot rolling, the rolled product undergoes a recrystallization process, wherein during the recrystallization process, the rolled product has a dimension of approximately 3.5 mm to 5 mm; and The rolled product is cold-rolled once or multiple times to produce the metal product. 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the recrystallization process comprises subjecting the rolled product to a temperature of about 350°C to about 500°C for up to 20 minutes. 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the recrystallization process comprises subjecting the rolled product to a temperature of about 350°C to about 450°C for up to 20 minutes. 26. The method of claim 23, wherein the recrystallization process is performed immediately after the hot rolling step. 27. The method of claim 23, further comprising cold rolling the rolled product once or multiple times prior to the recrystallization process. 28. A metal product made by the method according to any one of claims 23-27. 29. An automobile body component comprising the metal product of claim 28.