[go: up one dir, main page]

US20060096676A1 - Aluminium alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity - Google Patents

Aluminium alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20060096676A1
US20060096676A1 US10/541,788 US54178805A US2006096676A1 US 20060096676 A1 US20060096676 A1 US 20060096676A1 US 54178805 A US54178805 A US 54178805A US 2006096676 A1 US2006096676 A1 US 2006096676A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
temperature
ingot
aluminium alloy
cooling
max
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US10/541,788
Inventor
Gunther Hollrigl
Christophe Jaquerod
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
3A Composites International AG
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Assigned to ALCAN TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT LTD. reassignment ALCAN TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: JAQUEROD, CHRISTOPHE, HOLLRIGL, GUNTHER
Publication of US20060096676A1 publication Critical patent/US20060096676A1/en
Priority to US12/402,966 priority Critical patent/US7901522B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22C—ALLOYS
    • C22C21/00—Alloys based on aluminium
    • C22C21/10—Alloys based on aluminium with zinc as the next major constituent
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22F—CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS
    • C22F1/00—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working
    • C22F1/04—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working of aluminium or alloys based thereon
    • C22F1/053—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working of aluminium or alloys based thereon of alloys with zinc as the next major constituent
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22F—CHANGING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND NON-FERROUS ALLOYS
    • C22F1/00—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working
    • C22F1/04—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working of aluminium or alloys based thereon
    • C22F1/057—Changing the physical structure of non-ferrous metals or alloys by heat treatment or by hot or cold working of aluminium or alloys based thereon of alloys with copper as the next major constituent

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an aluminium alloy having high strength and low quench sensitivity. Also within the scope of the invention is a process for manufacturing thick plates of the aluminium alloy.
  • An object of the invention is to provide a suitable aluminium alloy of low quench sensitivity for manufacturing thick plates having a high strength level.
  • a further objective of the invention is to provide a suitable process by means of which the aluminium alloy can be processed to thick plates having adequate high strength over the whole plate thickness.
  • an aluminium alloy comprising 4.6 to 5.2 wt. % Zn 2.6 to 3.0 wt. % Mg 0.1 to 0.2 wt. % Cu 0.05 to 0.2 wt. % Zr max. 0.05 wt. % Mn max. 0.05 wt. % Cr max. 0.15 wt. % Fe max. 0.15 wt. % Si max. 0.10 wt. % Ti the remainder being aluminium with impurities arising out of the production process, each individually amounting at most to 0.05 wt. %, in total at most 0.15 wt. %.
  • FIG. 1 the distribution of the Brinell hardness over a part of the cross-section of a continuously cast ingot with a cross-section of 440 mm ⁇ 900 mm after fan cooling;
  • FIG. 2 the temperature change in a continuously cast ingot with a cross-section of 440 mm ⁇ 900 mm at the surface and in the middle during fan cooling;
  • FIG. 3 the calculated change in the inner temperature gradients for the temperature plot shown in FIG. 2 ;
  • FIG. 4 the calculated change in temperature gradient in a continuously cast ingot with a cross-section of 1000 mm ⁇ 1200 mm at the surface and in the middle during fan cooling;
  • FIG. 5 the calculated change in the inner temperature gradients for the temperature plot shown in FIG. 4 .
  • composition of the alloy according to the invention is selected such that it exhibits very low quench sensitivity and in spite of that has an extremely high strength level. Thick cross-sections can therefore be brought to a high strength level by means of forced air cooling and precipitation hardening.
  • the preferred range for the individual alloying elements are as follows: 4.6 to 4.8 wt. % Zn 2.6 to 2.8 wt. % Mg 0.10 to 0.15 wt. % Cu 0.08 to 0.18 wt. % Zr max. 0.03 wt. % Mn max. 0.02 wt. % Cr max. 0.12 wt. % Fe max. 0.12 wt. % Si max. 0.05 wt. % Ti
  • the alloy according to the invention to be employed as a material for mould manufacture it is necessary to strive for the most isotropic distribution of internal stresses in the cross-section of the plate.
  • the grain size and the shape of grain in the plate are significant for reducing the internal stresses.
  • the grain boundaries act as sinks for dislocations during the reduction of local stress peaks.
  • zirconium it is possible to achieve a fine grain structure in the plate by selecting the rate of heating the ingot to a homogenisation or solution treatment temperature such that as the distribution of submicron precip-itates of Al3Zr in the structure is as homogeneous as possible.
  • Suitable for manufacturing plates of the alloy according to the invention are the following two methods, which depending on the desired thickness of the mould, lead to a hot rolled and artificially age-hardened plate or to an artificially age-hardened ingot employed as plate.
  • the process for manufacturing plates with a thickness of up to 300 mm is characterised by the following steps:
  • the cooling of the ingot from the homogenisation temperature of 470-490° C. to the intermediate temperature of 400-410° C. takes place in still air.
  • the cooling of the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C. should preferably be so fast that the loss of strength is as small as possible. However, the cooling rate should also not be too great as this will cause the internal stresses to be excessive.
  • the cooling of the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C. to a temperature below 100° C. preferably takes place by forced air cooling or in a of water-air-spray mist.
  • the low heating rate in the temperature range 170 to 410° C. on heating the ingot to the homogenisation temperature is a significant feature of the process according to the invention.
  • the equilibrium AlZnMg phase (T-phase) is stable. Passing slowly through the heterogenisation interval leads to a finely dispersed precipitation of the T-phase, whereby the phase boundary interfaces of the precipitated particles of T-phase form preferred nucleant for the Al3Zr particles which start to precipitate out at around 350° C.
  • the previously precipitated T-phase particles dissolve leaving behind a uniform distribution of the fine, submicron Al3Zr precipitates, which lie on the original particle interfaces of the T-phase and on the subgrain boundaries, thus resulting in a homogeneous distribution.
  • These fine Al3Zr particles effect a strong resistance to grain growth on recrystallisation of the plate both during solution treatment and during homogenisation treatment of the cast ingot, producing the desired isotropic grain structure in the ingot.
  • the grain refining additive Zr is therefore utilised in an optimal manner.
  • a further essential feature of the process according to the invention is the combined homogenisation and solution treatment with subsequent two-stage cooling—this in contrast to the normal state-of-the-art process in which a separate solution treatment with subsequent quenching at a high cooling rate is necessary to obtain acceptable strength also in the middle of the ingot.
  • forced air cooling is to be understood here as air-cooling aided by fans leading to a heat-transfer coefficient at the ingot surface of around 40 W/m 2 K. Cooling in a water-air-spray mist leads to a slightly higher heat-transfer coefficient at the ingot surface.
  • the alloy according to the invention exhibits low quench sensitivity. On manu-facturing thick plates the loss in strength in the core of the plate is, in spite of the relatively mild cooling conditions, smaller than with alloys according to the state-of-the-art. Surprisingly, it has been found that this effect is even more pronounced in plates manufactured directly from continuously cast ingots than is the case with hot rolled plates.
  • the two-stage cooling from the homogenisation temperature to room temp-erature has been found to be particularly advantageous in the production of thick plates as a means of achieving a structure with low internal stresses.
  • the field of application of the alloy according to the invention and the thick plates manufactured therefrom results from the above described range of properties.
  • the plates are suitable in particular for manufacturing moulds i.e. for moulds for injection moulding of plastic, but also in general for manufacturing machines, tools and moulds.
  • An alloy with the composition (in wt. %) 0.040 Si, 0.08 Fe, 0.14 Cu, 0.0046 Mn, 2.69 Mg, 0.0028 Cr, 4.69 Zn, 0.017 Ti, 0.16 Zr, rest Al was cast on an industrial scale as a continuously cast ingot of cross-section 440 mm ⁇ 900 mm.
  • the ingots were heated within 30 h to a temperature of 480° C., whereby the heating rate in the range 170-410° C. was less than 20° C./h.
  • the homogenisation of the ingot to equalise the segregation arising during solidification was performed by holding the ingot for 12 h at 480° C.
  • the homogenised ingots were cooled from the homogenisation temperature in a first stage in still air to an intermediate temperature of 400° C. and subsequently in a second stage with forced air cooling from 400° C. to 100° C. The further cooling to room temperature took place again in still air.
  • the ingots were artificially age-hardened for 8 h at 95° C. followed by 18 h at 155° C. to the over-aged condition T76.
  • the Brinell hardness was measured on samples sawn out of the artificially age-hardened ingot perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.
  • the areas exhibiting the same hardness shown in FIG. 1 indicate clearly the low loss in hardness or strength in the ingot core compared with the hardness at the surface of the ingot.
  • FIG. 2 Shown in FIG. 2 are the temperature-time plots calculated for the surface (O) and the core (K) of an ingot with a cross-section of 440 ⁇ 900 mm cooled by fan cooling and in FIG. 3 the gradients derived therefrom between the temperature T K in the ingot core and the temperature T O at the ingot surface.
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 show the corresponding curves for an ingot with a cross-section of 1000 ⁇ 1200 mm. The results show that with ingots with a thickness of up to 1000 mm the process according to the invention is able to meet the strength requirements made of plates for manufacturing moulds for injection moulding plastic.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
  • Continuous Casting (AREA)
  • Moulds For Moulding Plastics Or The Like (AREA)
  • Metal Rolling (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analyzing Materials By The Use Of Fluid Adsorption Or Reactions (AREA)
  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)
  • Manufacture Of Alloys Or Alloy Compounds (AREA)
  • Heat Treatment Of Steel (AREA)
  • Contacts (AREA)
  • Conductive Materials (AREA)
  • Safety Valves (AREA)
  • Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)

Abstract

An aluminium alloy having high mechanical strength and low quench sensitivity comprising 4.6 to 5.2 wt. % Zn, 2.6 to 3.0 wt. % Mg, 0.1 to 0.2 wt. % Cu, 0.05 to 0.2 wt. % Zr, max. 0.05 wt. % Mn, max. 0.05 wt. % Cr, max. 0.15 wt. % Fe, max. 0.15 wt. % Si, max. 0.10 wt. % Ti and aluminium as the remainder along with production related impurities, individually max. 0.05 wt. %, in total max. 0.15 wt. %. A process for producing plates having a thickness of more than 300 mm for manufacturing moulds for injection-moulding plastics is made up of the following steps: continuous casting the alloy into ingots having a thickness greater than 300 mm, heating the ingots to a temperature of 470 to 490° C. with a max. heating rate of 20° C./h between 170 and 410° C., homogenising the ingots for 10 to 14 h at a temperature of 470 to 490° C., cooling the ingots in still air to an intermediate temperature of 400-410° C., cooling the ingots by means of forced air cooling from the intermediate temperature of 400-410° C. to a temperature of less than 100° C., cooling the ingots to room temperature, artificially age-hardening the ingots at elevated temperature. The artificially age-hardened ingots can be employed for manu-facturing moulds for injection-moulding plastics.

Description

    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • The present invention relates to an aluminium alloy having high strength and low quench sensitivity. Also within the scope of the invention is a process for manufacturing thick plates of the aluminium alloy.
  • In particular in the automobile industry there is an increasing demand for large plastic components such as e.g. integral bumpers. In order to manufacture the corresponding large moulds for injection moulding purposes it is necessary to have plates with a thickness often greater than 150 mm, in some cases even greater than 500 mm.
  • Today, normally hot rolled and artificially aged, i.e. plates heat-treated at elevated temperature, are employed for manufacturing injection moulding moulds with a thickness e.g. of 50 to 300 mm. Larger moulds, thicker than 300 mm, are manufactured either out of forged blocks or directly from continuously cast ingots.
  • One significant disadvantage of the aluminium alloys employed today for mould manufacture is their high quench sensitivity. In order that the ingots or plates reach the necessary strength level for plastic injection moulding moulds by means of artificial age hardening, the rate of cooling from the homogenisation or solution treatment temperature has to be increased with increasing plate thick-ness. Due to the resultant high temperature gradients between the surface and the core of the ingot or plate, the magnitude of the undesirable internal stresses increases, so that also for this reason there are limits to increasing the cooling rate further and with that the strength level that can be reached.
  • An object of the invention is to provide a suitable aluminium alloy of low quench sensitivity for manufacturing thick plates having a high strength level.
  • A further objective of the invention is to provide a suitable process by means of which the aluminium alloy can be processed to thick plates having adequate high strength over the whole plate thickness.
    • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • The objectives are achieved by way of the invention by providing an aluminium alloy comprising
    4.6 to 5.2 wt. % Zn
    2.6 to 3.0 wt. % Mg
    0.1 to 0.2 wt. % Cu
    0.05 to 0.2 wt. % Zr
    max. 0.05 wt. % Mn
    max. 0.05 wt. % Cr
    max. 0.15 wt. % Fe
    max. 0.15 wt. % Si
    max. 0.10 wt. % Ti

    the remainder being aluminium with impurities arising out of the production process, each individually amounting at most to 0.05 wt. %, in total at most 0.15 wt. %.
    • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • Further advantages, features and details of the invention are revealed in the following description of exemplified embodiments and with the aid of the drawing which shows in
  • FIG. 1 the distribution of the Brinell hardness over a part of the cross-section of a continuously cast ingot with a cross-section of 440 mm×900 mm after fan cooling;
  • FIG. 2 the temperature change in a continuously cast ingot with a cross-section of 440 mm×900 mm at the surface and in the middle during fan cooling;
  • FIG. 3 the calculated change in the inner temperature gradients for the temperature plot shown in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 the calculated change in temperature gradient in a continuously cast ingot with a cross-section of 1000 mm×1200 mm at the surface and in the middle during fan cooling;
  • FIG. 5 the calculated change in the inner temperature gradients for the temperature plot shown in FIG. 4.
    • DETAILED DESCRIPTION
  • The composition of the alloy according to the invention is selected such that it exhibits very low quench sensitivity and in spite of that has an extremely high strength level. Thick cross-sections can therefore be brought to a high strength level by means of forced air cooling and precipitation hardening.
  • The preferred range for the individual alloying elements are as follows:
    4.6 to 4.8 wt. % Zn
    2.6 to 2.8 wt. % Mg
    0.10 to 0.15 wt. % Cu
    0.08 to 0.18 wt. % Zr
    max. 0.03 wt. % Mn
    max. 0.02 wt. % Cr
    max. 0.12 wt. % Fe
    max. 0.12 wt. % Si
    max. 0.05 wt. % Ti
  • For the alloy according to the invention to be employed as a material for mould manufacture it is necessary to strive for the most isotropic distribution of internal stresses in the cross-section of the plate. Amongst other factors the grain size and the shape of grain in the plate are significant for reducing the internal stresses. The finer and more uniform the grains, the easier it is for the internal stresses in the cross-section of the plate to equalise. The grain boundaries act as sinks for dislocations during the reduction of local stress peaks. As explained below, by the addition of zirconium it is possible to achieve a fine grain structure in the plate by selecting the rate of heating the ingot to a homogenisation or solution treatment temperature such that as the distribution of submicron precip-itates of Al3Zr in the structure is as homogeneous as possible.
  • Suitable for manufacturing plates of the alloy according to the invention are the following two methods, which depending on the desired thickness of the mould, lead to a hot rolled and artificially age-hardened plate or to an artificially age-hardened ingot employed as plate. The process for manufacturing plates with a thickness of up to 300 mm is characterised by the following steps:
      • A. Continuous casting the aluminium alloy as an ingot with a thickness greater than 300 mm,
      • B. Heating the ingot at a maximum heating rate of 20° C./h between 170 and 410° C. to a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
      • C. Homogenising the ingot for an interval of 10 to 14 h at a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
      • D. Hot rolling the homogenised ingot to plate,
      • E. Cooling the plate from a temperature of 400 to 410° C. to a temperature of less than 100° C.,
      • F. Cooling the plate to room temperature
      • G. Artificially age-hardening the plate.
  • To manufacture plates with a thickness of greater than 300 mm and in particular plates of thickness greater than 500 mm one may employ directly as plate the continuously cast ingot made from the alloy according to the invention. The process in this case is characterised by the following steps:
      • A. Continuous casting the aluminium alloy as an ingot with a thickness greater than 300 mm,
      • B. Heating the ingot at a maximum heating rate of 20° C./h between 170 and 410° C. to a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
      • C. Homogenising the ingot for an interval of 10 to 14 h at a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
      • D. Cooling the ingot to an intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C.,
      • E. Cooling the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 4oo to 410° C. to a temperature below 100° C.,
      • F. Cooling the ingot to room temperature,
      • G. Artificially age-hardening the ingot,
      • H. Using the artificially age-hardened ingot as plate.
  • In a preferred embodiment of the invention the cooling of the ingot from the homogenisation temperature of 470-490° C. to the intermediate temperature of 400-410° C. takes place in still air.
  • The cooling of the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C. should preferably be so fast that the loss of strength is as small as possible. However, the cooling rate should also not be too great as this will cause the internal stresses to be excessive.
  • The cooling of the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C. to a temperature below 100° C. preferably takes place by forced air cooling or in a of water-air-spray mist.
  • When selecting the cooling conditions it is also necessary to take into account the thickness of the ingot. It is however, within the scope of knowledge of experts in the field to determine the optimum cooling conditions for a given ingot format by means of straightforward trials.
  • The low heating rate in the temperature range 170 to 410° C. on heating the ingot to the homogenisation temperature is a significant feature of the process according to the invention. In the mentioned temperature range—also called the heterogenisation interval—the equilibrium AlZnMg phase (T-phase) is stable. Passing slowly through the heterogenisation interval leads to a finely dispersed precipitation of the T-phase, whereby the phase boundary interfaces of the precipitated particles of T-phase form preferred nucleant for the Al3Zr particles which start to precipitate out at around 350° C. On heating the ingot further to the homogenisation temperature the previously precipitated T-phase particles dissolve leaving behind a uniform distribution of the fine, submicron Al3Zr precipitates, which lie on the original particle interfaces of the T-phase and on the subgrain boundaries, thus resulting in a homogeneous distribution. These fine Al3Zr particles effect a strong resistance to grain growth on recrystallisation of the plate both during solution treatment and during homogenisation treatment of the cast ingot, producing the desired isotropic grain structure in the ingot. The grain refining additive Zr is therefore utilised in an optimal manner.
  • A further essential feature of the process according to the invention is the combined homogenisation and solution treatment with subsequent two-stage cooling—this in contrast to the normal state-of-the-art process in which a separate solution treatment with subsequent quenching at a high cooling rate is necessary to obtain acceptable strength also in the middle of the ingot.
  • By “forced air cooling” is to be understood here as air-cooling aided by fans leading to a heat-transfer coefficient at the ingot surface of around 40 W/m2K. Cooling in a water-air-spray mist leads to a slightly higher heat-transfer coefficient at the ingot surface.
  • The alloy according to the invention exhibits low quench sensitivity. On manu-facturing thick plates the loss in strength in the core of the plate is, in spite of the relatively mild cooling conditions, smaller than with alloys according to the state-of-the-art. Surprisingly, it has been found that this effect is even more pronounced in plates manufactured directly from continuously cast ingots than is the case with hot rolled plates.
  • The two-stage cooling from the homogenisation temperature to room temp-erature has been found to be particularly advantageous in the production of thick plates as a means of achieving a structure with low internal stresses.
  • For artificial age-hardening preference is given to a sequence involving ageing at room temperature, a first heat-treatment at a first temperature and a second heat-treatment at a second temperature which is higher than the first temperature e.g.
      • 1 to 30 days at room temperature,
      • 6 to 10 h at a temperature of 90 to 100° C.,
      • 8 to 22 h at a temperature of 150 to 160° C.
  • Especially preferred is artificial age-hardening to the heat-treat condition T76.
  • The field of application of the alloy according to the invention and the thick plates manufactured therefrom results from the above described range of properties. The plates are suitable in particular for manufacturing moulds i.e. for moulds for injection moulding of plastic, but also in general for manufacturing machines, tools and moulds.
    • EXAMPLE
  • An alloy with the composition (in wt. %) : 0.040 Si, 0.08 Fe, 0.14 Cu, 0.0046 Mn, 2.69 Mg, 0.0028 Cr, 4.69 Zn, 0.017 Ti, 0.16 Zr, rest Al was cast on an industrial scale as a continuously cast ingot of cross-section 440 mm×900 mm. The ingots were heated within 30 h to a temperature of 480° C., whereby the heating rate in the range 170-410° C. was less than 20° C./h. The homogenisation of the ingot to equalise the segregation arising during solidification was performed by holding the ingot for 12 h at 480° C.
  • The homogenised ingots were cooled from the homogenisation temperature in a first stage in still air to an intermediate temperature of 400° C. and subsequently in a second stage with forced air cooling from 400° C. to 100° C. The further cooling to room temperature took place again in still air.
  • After 14 days at room temperature, the ingots were artificially age-hardened for 8 h at 95° C. followed by 18 h at 155° C. to the over-aged condition T76.
  • The Brinell hardness was measured on samples sawn out of the artificially age-hardened ingot perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The areas exhibiting the same hardness shown in FIG. 1 indicate clearly the low loss in hardness or strength in the ingot core compared with the hardness at the surface of the ingot.
  • Shown in FIG. 2 are the temperature-time plots calculated for the surface (O) and the core (K) of an ingot with a cross-section of 440×900 mm cooled by fan cooling and in FIG. 3 the gradients derived therefrom between the temperature TK in the ingot core and the temperature TO at the ingot surface. For comparison purposes FIGS. 4 and 5 show the corresponding curves for an ingot with a cross-section of 1000×1200 mm. The results show that with ingots with a thickness of up to 1000 mm the process according to the invention is able to meet the strength requirements made of plates for manufacturing moulds for injection moulding plastic.

Claims (19)

1-19. (canceled)
20. Aluminium alloy exhibiting high strength and low quench sensitivity comprising
4.6 to 5.2 wt. % Zn 2.6 to 3.0 wt. % Mg 0.1 to 0.2 wt. % Cu 0.05 to 0.2 wt. % Zr max. 0.05 wt. % Mn max. 0.05 wt. % Cr max. 0.15 wt. % Fe max. 0.15 wt. % Si max. 0.10 wt. % Ti
the remainder being impurities due to the manufacturing process, individually at maximum 0.05 wt. %, in total at maximum 0.15 wt. %.
21. Aluminium alloy according to claim 20, comprising 4.6 to 4.8 wt. % Zn.
22. Aluminium alloy according to claim 21, comprising 2.6 to 2.8 wt. % Mg.
23. Aluminium alloy according to claim 22, comprising 0.10 to 0.15 wt. % Cu.
24. Aluminium alloy according to claim 23, comprising 0.08 to 0.18 wt. % Zr.
25. Aluminium alloy according to claim 24, including a maximum concentration of 0.03 wt. % Mn.
26. Aluminium alloy according to claim 24, including a maximum concentration of 0.02 wt. % Cr.
27. Aluminium alloy according to claim 24, including a maximum concentration of 0.12 wt. % Fe.
28. Aluminium alloy according to claim 24, including a maximum concentration of 0.12 wt. % Si.
29. Aluminium alloy according to claim 24, including a maximum concentration of 0.05 wt. % Ti.
30. Process for manufacturing plates having a thickness up to 300 mm out of an aluminium alloy according to claim 20, comprising the steps of:
(a) continuous casting the aluminium alloy as an ingot with a thickness greater than 300 mm,
(b) heating the ingot at a maximum heating rate of 20° C./h between 170 and 410° C. to a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
(c) homogenising the ingot for an interval of 10 to 14 h at a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
(d) hot rolling the homogenised ingot to plate,
(e) cooling the plate from a temperature of 400 to 410° C. to a temperature of less than 100° C., and
(f) artificially age-hardening the plate.
31. Process for manufacturing plates having a thickness of greater than 300 mm out of an aluminium alloy according to claim 20, comprising the steps of:
(a) continuous casting the aluminium alloy as an ingot with a thickness greater than 300 mm,
(b) heating the ingot at a maximum heating rate of 20° C./h between 170 and 410° .C to a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
(c) homogenising the ingot for an interval of 10 to 14 h at a temperature of 470 to 490° C.,
(d) cooling the ingot to an intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C.,
(e) cooling the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400 to 410° C. to a temperature below 100° C.,
(f) further cooling the ingot to room temperature,
(g) artificially age-hardening the ingot, and
(h) forming the artificially age-hardened ingot into the plate.
32. Process according to claim 31, wherein the cooling of the ingot from the homogenisation temperature of 470-490° C. to the intermediate temperature of 400-410° C. takes place in still air.
33. Process according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the cooling of the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400-410° C. to a temperature below 100° C. takes place by forced air cooling.
34. Process according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the cooling of the ingot from the intermediate temperature of 400-410° C. to a temperature below 100° C. takes place in a water-air-mist spray.
35. Process according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the artificial age-hardening is carried out, after storage at room temperature, in a first heat-treatment at a first temperature, followed by a second heat-treatment at a second temperature which is higher than the first temper-ature.
36. Process according to claim 35, including the steps of:
(1) 1-30 days storage at room temperature,
(2) 6-10 h at a temperature of 90-100° C., and
(3) 8-22 h at a temperature of 150-160° C.
37. Process according to claim 36, wherein the artificial age-hardening is carried out resulting in a heat-treatment condition T76.
US10/541,788 2003-01-16 2003-12-20 Aluminium alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity Abandoned US20060096676A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US12/402,966 US7901522B2 (en) 2003-01-16 2009-03-12 Aluminum alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP03405013.8 2003-01-16
EP03405013A EP1441041A1 (en) 2003-01-16 2003-01-16 Aluminium alloy with high strength and low quenching sensitivity
PCT/EP2003/014696 WO2004063407A1 (en) 2003-01-16 2003-12-20 Aluminium alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/402,966 Division US7901522B2 (en) 2003-01-16 2009-03-12 Aluminum alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20060096676A1 true US20060096676A1 (en) 2006-05-11

Family

ID=32524285

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/541,788 Abandoned US20060096676A1 (en) 2003-01-16 2003-12-20 Aluminium alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity
US12/402,966 Expired - Fee Related US7901522B2 (en) 2003-01-16 2009-03-12 Aluminum alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/402,966 Expired - Fee Related US7901522B2 (en) 2003-01-16 2009-03-12 Aluminum alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity

Country Status (16)

Country Link
US (2) US20060096676A1 (en)
EP (2) EP1441041A1 (en)
AT (1) ATE367456T1 (en)
AU (1) AU2003293963A1 (en)
CA (1) CA2513333C (en)
DE (1) DE50307736D1 (en)
DK (1) DK1587965T3 (en)
ES (1) ES2290544T3 (en)
HR (1) HRP20050704B1 (en)
NO (1) NO340750B1 (en)
PL (1) PL203780B1 (en)
PT (1) PT1587965E (en)
RU (1) RU2351674C2 (en)
SI (1) SI1587965T1 (en)
TW (1) TWI291993B (en)
WO (1) WO2004063407A1 (en)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20110008202A1 (en) * 2005-01-19 2011-01-13 Otto Fuchs Kg Alluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching, as well as method for the production of a semi-finished product
US20110111081A1 (en) * 2008-06-24 2011-05-12 Aleris Aluminum Koblenz Gmbh Al-zn-mg alloy product with reduced quench sensitivity
EP2034035B1 (en) 2006-05-18 2016-03-30 Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho Process for producing aluminum alloy plate
CN112921220A (en) * 2021-01-25 2021-06-08 西南铝业（集团）有限责任公司 Al-Zn-Cu-Mg ingot and preparation method thereof

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN100363146C (en) * 2005-05-20 2008-01-23 东北轻合金有限责任公司 Manufacturing method of aluminum alloy profiles for pontoon bridges
CN100523242C (en) * 2006-11-13 2009-08-05 上海昊华模具有限公司 Aluminium alloy for Vehicular radial ply tyre moulds
DE102008053893B4 (en) * 2008-10-30 2010-08-19 Audi Ag Apparatus and method for cooling at least one cast component
RU2457422C2 (en) * 2010-04-16 2012-07-27 Российская Федерация в лице Министерства промышленности торговли Российской Федерации Manufacturing method of sandwich plate based on aluminium for bullet-proof welded armour
FR2968675B1 (en) 2010-12-14 2013-03-29 Alcan Rhenalu 7XXX THICK-ALLOY PRODUCTS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE
RU2489217C1 (en) * 2011-12-27 2013-08-10 Открытое акционерное общество "Всероссийский институт легких сплавов" (ОАО "ВИЛС") Method of sheets production from heat-hardened aluminium alloys alloyed with scandium and zirconium
JP6344923B2 (en) 2014-01-29 2018-06-20 株式会社Uacj High strength aluminum alloy and manufacturing method thereof
US10835942B2 (en) 2016-08-26 2020-11-17 Shape Corp. Warm forming process and apparatus for transverse bending of an extruded aluminum beam to warm form a vehicle structural component
AU2016424982A1 (en) * 2016-09-30 2019-04-11 Obshchestvo S Ogranichennoy Otvetstvennost'yu "Obedinennaya Kompaniya Rusal Inzhenerno-Tekhnologicheskiy Tsentr" Method for making deformed semi-finished products from aluminium alloys
WO2018078527A1 (en) 2016-10-24 2018-05-03 Shape Corp. Multi-stage aluminum alloy forming and thermal processing method for the production of vehicle components

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3694272A (en) * 1970-12-24 1972-09-26 Kaiser Aluminium Chem Corp Method for forming aluminum sheet

Family Cites Families (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3542606A (en) * 1968-03-13 1970-11-24 Kaiser Aluminium Chem Corp Hot worked metal article of aluminum base alloy and method of producing same
ATA113876A (en) * 1976-02-18 1978-04-15 Vmw Ranshofen Berndorf Ag WELDABLE, EXTREMELY HOT FORMING, BORON-FREE CAST AND WET ALUMINUM ALLOYS WITH HIGH RESISTANCE AGAINST STRESS Cracks AND COATING CORROSION WITH AT THE SAME TIME GOOD MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
US4618382A (en) * 1983-10-17 1986-10-21 Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho Superplastic aluminium alloy sheets
JPH0794701B2 (en) * 1991-04-01 1995-10-11 住友軽金属工業株式会社 Manufacturing method of aluminum alloy soft material for welded structure
US5389165A (en) * 1991-05-14 1995-02-14 Reynolds Metals Company Low density, high strength Al-Li alloy having high toughness at elevated temperatures
ZA925491B (en) * 1991-07-23 1993-03-05 Alcan Int Ltd Aluminum alloy.
JPH07252573A (en) * 1994-03-17 1995-10-03 Kobe Steel Ltd Al-zn-mg-cu alloy excellent in toughness and its production
US5961752A (en) * 1994-04-07 1999-10-05 Northwest Aluminum Company High strength Mg-Si type aluminum alloy
RU2094517C1 (en) * 1995-02-24 1997-10-27 Акционерное общество "Самарская металлургическая компания" Aluminium deformable thermally strengthened alloy
RU2094516C1 (en) * 1995-02-24 1997-10-27 Акционерное общество "Самарская металлургическая компания" Aluminium deformable thermally strengthened alloy
RU2087582C1 (en) * 1996-02-20 1997-08-20 Галина Ивановна Медведева Method of manufacturing parts from aluminium alloys
JP4204650B2 (en) 1996-12-09 2009-01-07 三井金属鉱業株式会社 High strength heat-resistant zinc alloy and molded product
JP3638188B2 (en) * 1996-12-12 2005-04-13 住友軽金属工業株式会社 Manufacturing method of high strength aluminum alloy extruded tube for front fork outer tube of motorcycle with excellent stress corrosion cracking resistance
EP1409759A4 (en) * 2000-10-20 2004-05-06 Pechiney Rolled Products Llc High strenght aluminum alloy

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3694272A (en) * 1970-12-24 1972-09-26 Kaiser Aluminium Chem Corp Method for forming aluminum sheet

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20110008202A1 (en) * 2005-01-19 2011-01-13 Otto Fuchs Kg Alluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching, as well as method for the production of a semi-finished product
US10301710B2 (en) 2005-01-19 2019-05-28 Otto Fuchs Kg Aluminum alloy that is not sensitive to quenching, as well as method for the production of a semi-finished product
EP2034035B1 (en) 2006-05-18 2016-03-30 Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho Process for producing aluminum alloy plate
US20110111081A1 (en) * 2008-06-24 2011-05-12 Aleris Aluminum Koblenz Gmbh Al-zn-mg alloy product with reduced quench sensitivity
US9890448B2 (en) 2008-06-24 2018-02-13 Aleris Aluminum Koblenz Gmbh Al—Zn—Mg alloy product with reduced quench sensitivity
CN112921220A (en) * 2021-01-25 2021-06-08 西南铝业（集团）有限责任公司 Al-Zn-Cu-Mg ingot and preparation method thereof

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1441041A1 (en) 2004-07-28
PL203780B1 (en) 2009-11-30
HRP20050704A2 (en) 2006-02-28
TW200427850A (en) 2004-12-16
ATE367456T1 (en) 2007-08-15
TWI291993B (en) 2008-01-01
NO20053832D0 (en) 2005-08-15
NO340750B1 (en) 2017-06-12
US7901522B2 (en) 2011-03-08
CA2513333C (en) 2010-09-14
US20090223608A1 (en) 2009-09-10
DE50307736D1 (en) 2007-08-30
CA2513333A1 (en) 2004-07-29
EP1587965A1 (en) 2005-10-26
EP1587965B1 (en) 2007-07-18
RU2351674C2 (en) 2009-04-10
RU2005125727A (en) 2007-02-27
ES2290544T3 (en) 2008-02-16
PT1587965E (en) 2007-10-12
SI1587965T1 (en) 2007-12-31
DK1587965T3 (en) 2007-11-19
HRP20050704B1 (en) 2008-06-30
AU2003293963A1 (en) 2004-08-10
PL376309A1 (en) 2005-12-27
NO20053832L (en) 2005-10-17
WO2004063407A1 (en) 2004-07-29

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US7901522B2 (en) Aluminum alloy with increased resistance and low quench sensitivity
US9890448B2 (en) Al—Zn—Mg alloy product with reduced quench sensitivity
JP3194742B2 (en) Improved lithium aluminum alloy system
RU2109835C1 (en) Low-density aluminum-based alloy and material of manufacturing product therefrom
US8357249B2 (en) High strength, heat treatable aluminum alloy
CN102676962B (en) Method for manufacturing an extruded material of heat treatment type Al-Zn-Mg series aluminum alloy
EP2121997B1 (en) Ai-cu alloy product suitable for aerospace application
US20120230862A1 (en) Aluminium foil alloy
US6325869B1 (en) Aluminum alloy extrusions having a substantially unrecrystallized structure
JPH04341546A (en) Production of high strength aluminum alloy-extruded shape material
Blade et al. Alloy composition and microstructure control in relation to mechanical working for aluminium alloys
JPH06287671A (en) Aluminum alloy for extrusion
CN117512409A (en) Aluminum alloy wire with high thermal stability and preparation method thereof
JPH0663060B2 (en) Method for manufacturing rolled aluminum alloy plate
JPH02259049A (en) Manufacture of al-li-cu-mg series superplastic sheet having less anisotropy

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: ALCAN TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT LTD., SWITZERLAND

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:HOLLRIGL, GUNTHER;JAQUEROD, CHRISTOPHE;REEL/FRAME:017475/0154;SIGNING DATES FROM 20050620 TO 20050628

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION