Novelis, Inc.

Alcan International Limited

Michael Jackson Bull

David James Lloyd

Alok Kumar Gupta

Pierre Henri Marois

Andrew James Hobbis

David Michael Custers

Michael John Wheeler

Robert Bruce Wagstaff

Rajeev G Kamat

Iljoon Jin

Kevin Michael Gatenby

Paul A Wycliffe

John Fitzsimon

Theresa Elizabeth MacFarlane

Gijsbertus Langelaan

Alan Robert Carr

Phil Morris

Anthony A Hambley

Daniel Ronald Evans

Described herein is a continuous coil pretreatment process used to treat the surface of an aluminum alloy sheet or coil for subsequent deposition of an acidic organophosphorus compound. The process can include applying a cleaner to a surface of an aluminum sheet or a coil; etching the surface of the aluminum sheet or the coil with an acidic solution; rinsing the surface of the aluminum sheet or the coil with deionized water; applying to the surface of the aluminum sheet or the coil a solution of an acidic organophosphorus compound; rinsing the surface of the aluminum sheet or the coil with deionized water; and drying the surface of the aluminum sheet or the coil.

Continuous coil pretreatment process

System and method for using fast response heaters to pre-heat metal before entering a metal treatment furnace, which may improve control over metal processing, especially in response to changes in material, mass flow rate, line speed, and/or desired treatment process. Fast response heaters may be used with control systems to adjust the output of the fast response heater based on operator inputs, direct or indirect sensing of process parameters, and/or the use of thermal models to quickly adjust fast response heater output while a metal treatment furnace remains at a constant temperature or slowly transitions into a new operating state. The resulting gains in process control result in higher quality products, reduced scrap, and increases in line speed and output.

Fast response heaters and associated control systems used in combination with metal treatment furnaces

The present invention relates to aluminum alloy products that can be riveted and possess excellent ductility and toughness properties. The present invention also relates to a method of producing the aluminum alloy products. In particular, these products have application in the automotive industry.

Aluminum alloy products and a method of preparation

Described herein is a novel process for separating individual lubricated aluminum sheets from a stack of lubricated aluminum sheets as they enter a stamping press for fabrication. The process involves placing a lift underneath a stack of aluminum sheets and lifting the center upwards. This in turn causes the edges of the stack to bend downwards, creating a concave bending curvature facing the lift. The induced curvature is sufficient to provide the inter-sheet shear necessary to break the adhesion caused by the lubricant.

De-stacking process for the separation of lubricated aluminum sheets

A method of producing a clad sheet article having superplastic properties, and the resulting clad sheet article. The method involves producing a cladding layer onto at least one rolling face of a core ingot made of a metal having superplastic properties, preferably by co-casting, to form a clad ingot and then rolling said clad ingot to produce a sheet article. The core ingot includes an element that diffuses from an interior of the ingot to a surface at superplastic forming temperatures thereby deteriorating surface properties of the ingot. The cladding layer is provided with an element (dopant) that reacts with the element of the core to reduce the ability of the element to diffuse through the cladding layer.

Cladding superplastic alloys

A process is described for producing an aluminum alloy sheet having excellent bendability for use in forming panels for automobiles. An aluminum alloy containing 0.50 to 0.75 by weight Mg, 0.7 to 0.85% by weight Si, 0.1 to 0.3% by weight Fe, 0.15 to 0.35% by weight Mn, and the balance Al and incidental impurities, is used and is semi-continuously cast into ingot. The cast alloy ingot is subjected to hot rolling and cold rolling, followed by solution heat treatment of the formed sheet. The heat treated sheet is quenched to a temperature of about 60&#x2013;120&#xb0; C. and the sheet is then coiled. This coil is then pre-aged by slowly cooling the coil from an initial temperature of about 60&#x2013;120&#xb0; C. to room temperature at a cooling rate of less than 10&#xb0; C./hr.

Process for making aluminum alloy sheet having excellent bendability

A process is described for producing an aluminum alloy sheet having excellent bendability for use in forming panels for automobiles. An aluminum alloy containing 0.50 to 0.75 by weight Mg, 0.7 to 0.85% by weight Si, 0.1 to 0.3% by weight Fe, 0.15 to 0.35% by weight Mn, and the balance Al and incidental impurities, is used and is semi-continuously cast into ingot. The cast alloy ingot is subjected to hot rolling and cold rolling, followed by solution heat treatment of the formed sheet. The heat treated sheet is quenched to a temperature of about 60-120&deg; C. and the sheet is then coiled. This coil is then pre-aged by slowly cooling the coil from an initial temperature of about 60-120&deg; C. to room temperature at a cooling rate of less than 10&deg; C./hr.

An aluminium alloy in the AA5XXX series has the composition: Si 0.10-0.25 %; Fe 0.18-0.30 %; Cu up to 0.5 %; Mn 0.4-0.7 %; Mg 3.0-3.5%; Cr up to 0.2%; and Ti up to 0.1%. Rolled and annealed sheet of the alloy is readily formed into shaped components for use in vehicles which components have good strength and resistance to stress corrosion cracking.

A1 alloy and method

An aluminum alloy containing the following elements in the stated amounts: 0.6&lE;Mg&lE;0.9; 0.25&lE;Si&lE;0.6; 0.25&lE;Cu&lE;0.9; Fe<0.4; Mn<0.4; the total of the amounts of Cu, Si and Mg being, in atomic weight percent, more than 1.2% and less than 1.8%. These alloys may be subjected to homogenization at about 470 to 560&deg; C. for more than four hours, hot rolling at a temperature in the range of 400 to 580&deg; C., cold rolling, solutionizing at a temperature in the range of 470 to 580&deg; C., and natural aging at ambient temperature. The alloys may then be used as structural components for all aluminum vehicles and may be recycled with other aluminum alloys used in such vehicles.

Precipitation-hardened aluminum alloys for automotive structural applications

A process of producing an aluminum alloy sheet product suitable for forming into automotive parts and exhibiting reduced roping effects. The process involves producing an aluminum alloy sheet product by direct chill casting an aluminum alloy to form a cast ingot, homogenizing the ingot, hot rolling the ingot to form and intermediate gauge product, cold rolling the intermediate gauge product to form a product of final gauge, and subjecting the final gauge product to a solutionizing treatment by heating the product to a solutionizing temperature, followed by a pre-aging step involving cooling the product to a coiling temperature above 50.degree. C., coiling the cooled product at the coiling temperature, and cooling the coiled final gauge product from the coiling temperature above 50.degree. C. to ambient temperature at a rate less than about 10.degree. C. per hour to improve T8X temper characteristics of the product. Additionally, a batch anneal step is carried out on the intermediate gauge product or at an intermediate stage of the cold rolling to reduce or eliminate roping tendencies of the alloy sheet product. To maintain a high T8X response, the alloy used in the process has the following composition: 0.4 to 1.1% by weight magnesium; 0.3 to 1.4% by weight silicon; 0 to 1.0% by weight copper; 0 to 0.4% by weight iron; 0 to 0.15% by weight manganese; 0 to 0.15% weight naturally-occurring impurities (collective total); and the balance aluminum. The invention also relates to a sheet alloy product exhibiting reduced roping effects produced by the indicated process.

Process of producing aluminum alloy sheet exhibiting reduced roping

A process of producing solution heat treated aluminum alloy sheet material comprises subjecting hot- or cold-rolled aluminum alloy sheet to solution heat treatment followed by quenching and, before substantial age hardening has taken place, subjecting the alloy sheet material to one or more subsequent heat treatments involving heating the material to a peak temperature in the range of 100.degree. to 300.degree. C. (preferably 130.degree.-270.degree. C.), holding the material at the peak temperature for a period of time less than about 1 minute, and cooling the alloy from the peak temperature to a temperature of 85.degree. C. or less. The sheet material treated in this way can by used for automotive panels and has good a good 'paint bake response', i.e. an increase in yield strength from the T4 temper to the T8X temper upon painting and baking of the panels.

Heat treatment process for aluminum alloy sheet

An alloy of aluminum containing magnesium, silicon and optionally copper in amounts in percent by weight falling within one of the following ranges:

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Brighton, MI, United States of America

Michael Jackson Bull