There is a strong desire among automobile manufacturers to reduce the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of their current vehicles. Reducing the overall weight of a vehicle represents the most practical opportunity to reduce fuel consumption. Replacing the current steel sheet structures with lightweight alternatives, such as aluminum, offers an excellent solution. Much of the attention in North America has been focused on copper-containing Al-Mg-Si aluminum alloys (6xxx series), such as AA6111. These alloys offer an excellent combination of good formability and precipitation-strengthening ability.<p> In this study, the effect of solute concentration on the strength and strain aging behavior of a proprietary Al-Mg-Si-(Cu) alloy was evaluated. The experimental design used was a 26 full factorial design, with the primary factors being the solute concentrations of magnesium, silicon, and copper, as well as the effects of applied strain (cold work), and natural and artificial aging heat treatments (e.g., a simulated paint bake process). The primary investigative techniques employed included tensile testing, microhardness measurements, and optical metallography.<p> The results show that cold work and artificial aging produce the most substantial strengthening in the alloys. The occurrence of natural aging prior to forming and artificial aging reduced strengthening. The highest strength levels in the naturally aged and paint baked condition, which most closely resembles what is found in industry, were achieved at a combination of low magnesium levels (i.e., 0.5 wt.%) and high silicon and copper levels (i.e., 0.9 and 0.3 wt.%, respectively).

There is a strong desire among automobile manufacturers to reduce the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of their current vehicles. Reducing the overall weight of a vehicle represents the most practical opportunity to reduce fuel consumption. Replacing the current steel sheet structures with lightweight alternatives, such as aluminum, offers an excellent solution. Much of the attention in North America has been focused on copper-containing Al-Mg-Si aluminum alloys (6xxx series), such as AA6111. These alloys offer an excellent combination of good formability and precipitation-strengthening ability.<p> In this study, the effect of solute concentration on the strength and strain aging behavior of a proprietary Al-Mg-Si-(Cu) alloy was evaluated. The experimental design used was a 26 full factorial design, with the primary factors being the solute concentrations of magnesium, silicon, and copper, as well as the effects of applied strain (cold work), and natural and artificial aging heat treatments (e.g., a simulated paint bake process). The primary investigative techniques employed included tensile testing, microhardness measurements, and optical metallography.<p> The results show that cold work and artificial aging produce the most substantial strengthening in the alloys. The occurrence of natural aging prior to forming and artificial aging reduced strengthening. The highest strength levels in the naturally aged and paint baked condition, which most closely resembles what is found in industry, were achieved at a combination of low magnesium levels (i.e., 0.5 wt.%) and high silicon and copper levels (i.e., 0.9 and 0.3 wt.%, respectively).

Estágio realizado na Quintas & Quintas - Condutores Elétricos, S. A. - e orientado pelo Eng. Tiago Santos / Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2012

Microstructural and mechanical characterizations of heat treatable Al-Mg-Si-Cu based wrought aluminum alloys have been studied. The aim of this work was to produce fine grained, high strength alloy by adjusting processing conditions: deformation, solutionizing and aging. First, primary characterization was carried out via SEM-EDS analyses and tensile tests. Then an extensive experimental study has been carried out on two sets of samples. The first set has been studied to determine the ideal conditions for solutionizing and aging processes by analyzing the variation of hardness with different solutionizing and aging time and temperature. The second set, have first been mechanically deformed by swaging at four different deformations and four different temperatures, then heat treated. The hardness measurements have been carried out before and after solutionizing and also after aging. Finally, recrystallization behavior has been investigated by measuring grain size before and after solutionizing treatment using image analyzer software. The initial characterizations showed that Mg2Si and complex iron, manganese bearing intermetallics were the primary particles observed in the &amp / #945 / -Al matrix. Nearly 140HB hardness could be obtained with solutionizing at 530&deg / C and aging at 175&deg / C for 8 hours which was determined as the optimum treatment for obtaining peak hardness. When shaping (deformation) was concerned / strength loss was the overall outcome of any hot or cold deformation before solutionizing / which was most probably due to the destruction of the initial microstructure. Improvement in the percent elongation was the promising aspect of this application. Strength loss was increased for samples deformed at higher temperatures and higher reductions.

The objective of this research is to increase the understanding of the solidification behaviour of some industrially important wrought aluminium alloys. The investigation methods range from direct investigations of as-cast ingots to laboratory-scale techniques in which ingot casting is simulated. The methods span from directional solidification at different cooling rates to more fundamental and controlled techniques such as DTA and DSC. The microstructure characteristics of the castings have been investigated by optical and Scanning Electron microscopy. Hardness tests were used to evaluate the mechanical properties. The effects of adding alloying elements to 3XXX and 6XXX aluminium alloys have been studied with special focus on the effects of Zn, Cu, Si and Ti. These elements influence the strength and corrosion properties, which are important for the performance of final components of these alloys. Solidification studies of 0-5wt% Zn additions to 3003 alloys showed that the most important effect on the microstructure was noticed at 2.5 wt% Zn, where the structure was fine, and the hardness had a maximum. Si addition to a level of about 2% gave a finer structure, having a relatively large fraction of eutectic structure, however, it also gave a long solidification interval. The addition of small amounts of Cu, 0.35 and 1.0 wt%, showed a beneficial effect on the hardness. Differences have been observed in the ingot surface microstructures of 6xxx billets with different Mg and Si ratios. Excess Si compositions showed a coarser grain structure and more precipitations with possible negative implications for surface defect formation during DC casting. The comparison of alloys of different Ti content showed that the addition of titanium to a level of about 0.15 wt% gave a coarser grain structure than alloys with a normal Ti content for grain refinement, i.e. &lt; 0.02 wt%, although a better corrosion resistance can be obtained at higher Ti contents. The larger grain size results in crack sensitivity during DC casting. A macroscopic etching technique was developed, based on a NaOH solution, and used in inclusion assessment along DC cast billets. Good quantitative data with respect to the size and spatial distribution of inclusions were obtained. The results from studied billets reveal a decreasing number of inclusions going from bottom to top, and the presence of a ring-shaped distribution of a large number of small defects in the beginning of the casting. The present study shows how composition modifications, i.e. additions of certain amounts of alloying elements to the 3xxx and 6xxx Al alloys, significantly change the microstructures of the materials, its castability, and consequently its mechanical properties / QC 20100901

Aluminum alloys are of great importance in the automotive and truck industries due to the weight savings that they can help to achieve. However, the use of such alloys in applications where they are subjected to alternating stresses requires knowledge about their fatigue behavior. Moreover, extrusion induces a strong texture and microstructural heterogeneity in the material and gives a surface with long grooves parallel to the extrusion direction (ED), so-called die lines. This anisotropy in surface conditions and microstructure may affect the fatigue properties. To investigate how die lines and microstructure affects fatigue in aluminum, the high cycle fatigue properties cycles of three peak-aged AlMgSi alloys were evaluated. Flat profiles of 6060-T6, 6063-T6 and 6082-T6 were tested in uniaxial stress (R = 0.1) in a servo-hydraulic fatigue testing machine with a constant stress amplitude. Two specimen types were tested for 6063 and 6082: one with the ED parallel to the loading direction (longitudinal), and one with the ED perpendicular to it (transverse). It was found that both 6063 and 6082 displayed anisotropy in fatigue lives, with the longitudinal orientation performing better. The anisotropy was far stronger in 6082 than in 6063. Furthermore, 6060 longitudinal displayed higher fatigue strength than 6063 longitudinal at higher stress amplitudes, but lower fatigue strength at lower amplitudes. Metallographic investigations with SEM indicated that grain boundaries of the surface-layer grains were involved in the initiation of the fatigue crack. Intergranular crack propagation and separation was observed on the fracture surfaces, especially in the surface layer. The extruded surfaces also showed evidence of intergranular crack propagation. The exact sites of crack initiation could not be found so it could not be proven conclusively that die lines were sites of crack initiation in transverse specimens, but there were some indications from metallographic and macrofractographic investigations that this was the case. / Aluminiumlegeringar används mycket i bilindustrin på grund av de viktbesparingar som kan åstadkommas. Användandet av sådana legeringar i tillämpningar där det utsätts för cykliska laster kräver dock kunskap om deras utmattningsbeteende. Dessutom skapar extrusionsprocessen en stark textur och heterogenitet i mikrostrukturen och resulterar i en yta med fina fåror parallella med pressriktningen, s.k. die lines. Anisotropin i ytbeskaffningen och mikrostrukturen kan påverka utmattningshållfastheten. För att undersöka hur die lines och mikrostruktur påverkar utmattningen i aluminium testades högcykelutmattningsegenskaperna hos tre toppåldrade AlMgSi legeringar. Platta profiler av 6060-T6, 6063-T6 och 6082-T6 testades i enaxlig dragspänning (R = 0.1) i en servohydraulisk utmattningsmaskin med konstant lastamplitud. Två sorters provstavar testade av 6082 och 6063: en med pressriktningen parallell med lastriktningen (längsriktning) och en med pressriktningen vinkelrät mot lastriktningen (tvärriktning). Både 6063 och 6082 uppvisade olika utmattningsliv beroende på pressriktningens orientering mot lastriktningen, där längsriktningen hade längre utmattningsliv för båda legeringarna. Anisotropin var mycket starkare in 6082 än 6063. Dessutom uppvisade 6060 i längsriktningen högre utmattningsstyrka än 6063 vid höga lastamplituder, men lägre utmattningsstyrka vid lägre lastamplituder. Metallografiska undersökningar med SEM indikerade att korngränser i ytlagret var involverade i sprickinitieringen. Spricktillväxt i och separation av korngränser observerades på brottytorna, speciellt i ytlagret. Den extruderade ytan visade också bevis för interkristallin spricktillväxt. De exakta platserna för sprickinitering kunde inte hittas så det kunde inte entydigt bevisas att sprickinitieringen skedde i die lines i provstavar med pressriktningen vinkelrät mot lastriktningen, men i metallografiska och fraktografiska undersökningar fanns vissa indikationer att så var fallet.