As customer demands become more stringent for canbody stock, it
becomes essential to understand the complex interaction between the processing
conditions and resulting product properties. This research focused on investigating the
influence of homogenization process parameters (heat-up rate, soak temperature and
time) on the microstructural evolution of an AA3104 aluminum alloy used for canbody
stock. Experiments were conducted on samples taken from an industrial D.C. cast ingot
and homogenized in a programmable temperature controlled laboratory furnace under
various thermal profiles (i.e. homogenization temperatures 550°C, 580°C and 610°C at
various heating rates and homogenization soak times of up to ten hours). The samples
were then characterized in terms of their microstructure (retained manganese in solid
solution, percentage a-phase, and size distribution and density of dispersoids).
The homogenization process parameters were found to affect the evolving
microstructure profoundly with:
• An increase in heat-up rate favoring a reduction in the number of evolving dispersoids.
• An increase in soak temperature increasing the Mn in solid solution, and decreasing the
number of dispersoids that form.
• An increase in soak time up to 3 hrs increasing the volume percent of α-
Al₁₂(Fe,Mn)₃Si.
Based on this work, a homogenization profile for optimum microstructure and
texture development would include a fast heat-up rate to a high soak temperature
(610°C) with moderate soak times (up to 3 hrs).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/9389 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Gandhi, Chetak |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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