Alcan International Limited

Novelis, Inc.

Pierre Henri Marois

Alok Kumar Gupta

David James Lloyd

Kevin Michael Gatenby

Andrew D Howells

Michael Jackson Bull

Nicholas Charles Parson

Thomas L Davisson

Paul E Fortin

Dewi G Evans

Iljoon Jin

Alan Gray

Hany Ahmed

John Fitzsimon

Jyothi Kadali

Michael John Wheeler

Thiagarajan Ramanan

Ian Smith

Daniel Ronald Evans

Fred Perdriset

This application discloses a multilayer aluminum material comprising an aluminum alloy core and aluminum alloy cladding, wherein the aluminum alloy cladding contains 0.1-1.0 wt % Cu, 0.1-0.5 wt % Fe, 0.1-1.0 wt % Mn, 3-15 wt % Si, 0.005-0.15 wt % Ti and &#x3e;3-&#x2266;7 wt % Zn, remainder Al. The aluminum alloy cladding can also optionally contain one or more of 0.001-0.3 wt % Mg, 0.001-0.01 wt % Ni or 0.001-0.05 wt % of at least one of Sr, Ca or Na. A process for producing the material is also described. The material can be produced in sheet form and is suitable for brazing application. The metal forms fabricated from the multilayer aluminum material by a process comprising brazing steps are also described.

Clad sheet alloys for brazing applications

The present invention relates to an aluminum alloy product for use as a finstock material within brazed heat exchangers and, more particularly, to a finstock material having high strength and conductivity after brazing. The invention is an aluminum alloy finstock comprising the following composition in weight %: 

Aluminum fin alloy and method of making the same

The present invention provides a new aluminum alloy material which may be used for a core alloy of a corrosion-resistant brazing sheet. This core alloy displays with high strength, and good corrosion resistance for use in heat exchangers. This aluminum alloy material was made by direct chill (DC) casting. The present inventions also provides corrosion-resistant brazing sheet packages including the aluminum alloy material as a core and one or more cladding layers.

Brazing sheet core alloy for heat exchanger

This application discloses a corrosion-resistant brazing sheet package for use in manufacturing tubing. The brazing sheet package includes a core layer of aluminum-containing alloy comprising from 0.1 wt % to 0.2 wt % of titanium. The core layer has a first side and a second side. The first side of the core layer is adjacent to a first cladding layer to form a first interface. The second side of the core layer is adjacent to a second cladding layer to form a second interface. The first cladding layer and the second cladding layer each include from 2.5 wt % to 4.0 wt % of zinc.

Corrosion-resistant brazing sheet package

The exemplary embodiments relate to a multilayer aluminum alloy sheet material suitable for fabrication into coolant-conveying tubes, headers and the like used for heat exchangers, and to the tubes and headers, etc., fabricated from the sheet. The multi-layer metal sheet has a core layer of aluminum alloy having first and second sides. The first side has an interlayer made of a Zn-containing aluminum alloy positioned between a Zn-containing outer layer and the core layer. The alloy of the outer layer is more electronegative than the alloy of the interlayer. The alloy of the interlayer is preferably more electronegative than the alloy of the core layer. The first side clad in this way is the side intended for exposure to the coolant, and provides good resistance to corrosion and erosion.

Clad metal sheet and heat exchanger tubing etc. made therefrom

The present invention provides extruded tubes for heat exchangers having improved corrosion resistance when used alone and when part of a brazed heat exchanger assembly with compatible finstock. The tubes are formed from a first aluminum alloy containing 0.4 to 1.1% by weight manganese, up to 0.01% by weight copper, up to 0.05% by weight zinc, up to 0.2% by weight iron, up to 0.2% by weight silicon, up to 0.01% by weight nickel, up to 0.05% by weight titanium and the balance aluminum and incidental impurities. The fins are formed from a second aluminum alloy containing 0.9 to 1.5% by weight manganese or an alloy of the AA3003 type, this second aluminum alloy further containing at least 0.5% by weight zinc.

Aluminum alloy tube and fin assembly for heat exchangers having improved corrosion resistance after brazing

When using AA3000 series and AA1000 series aluminum alloys to produce extruded products for heat exchanger applications, by controlling the level of copper and nickel in the alloy to very low levels it is possible to produce excellent corrosion resistance both before and after a brazing cycle. To achieve these results, the copper content should be no more than 0.006% by weight and the nickel no more than 0.005% by weight. A typical alloy of the invention contains about 0.001-0.5% by weight manganese, 0.001-0.7% by weight iron, 0.001-0.02% by weight titanium, 0.001-0.3% by weight silicon, less than 0.006% by weight copper, less than 0.005% by weight nickel and 0.001-0.02% by weight zinc, with the balance consisting of aluminum and incidental impurities. No zinc addition to the alloy is required either by zinc spraying or by alloy addition.

Aluminum alloys having high corrosion resistance after brazing

A process of producing a shaped article suitable for use as an automotive body panel intended for finishing by painting and, if necessary, baking. The process comprises obtaining a sheet article made of an aluminum alloy of the 2000 or 6000 series in a T4 or T4P temper and that exhibits an increase in hardness after painting and optionally baking, shaping the sheet article by forming to produce an intermediate shaped article, and subjecting the intermediate shaped article to a thermal spiking treatment prior to painting and optionally baking. The thermal spiking treatment involves heating the intermediate shaped article from ambient temperature to a temperature in a range of 150 to 300&deg; C. with or without holding at that temperature for a period of time to enhance the increase in hardness. The process may also include the painting and optionally baking step. The invention includes the shaped articles, either prior to or after painting and optionally baking, produced by the process. The invention makes it possible to provide shaped articles that develop good hardness when used as automotive panels and the like, and may thus make it possible to reduce the gauge (and therefore weight) of those articles. This can be done without having to modify conventional procedures of casting and rolling to gauge to produce coiled sheet products.

Heat treatment of formed aluminum alloy products

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:

Aluminum alloys and process for making aluminum alloy sheet

The invention provides an aluminum alloy material consisting essentially of, by weight percent, 1% to 1.8% Cu, 0.8% to 1.4% Mg, 0.2% to 0.39% Si, 0.5% to 0.4% Fe, 0.05% to 0.40% Mn, with the balance aluminum with normal impurities. The alloy forms two precipitation phases during heat treatment and age hardening: a beta phase of Mg.sub.2 Si and an S' phase of Al.sub.2 CuMg. The alloy has improved formability without significant sacrifice of strength, and is particularly suited to be formed into automobile sheet metal parts such as hood lids, trunks lids, and fenders.

Aluminum alloy and method of making

A process is described for producing a corrosion resistant aluminum composite sheet product for use in brazing. The process steps comprise:

Process for improving the corrosion resistance of brazing sheet

A corrosion resistant aluminum article is described. It includes a main body portion formed of an aluminum alloy containing no more than 0.4% iron, no more than 0.15% silicon, from about 0.1% to about 0.6% copper and from about 0.7% to about 1.5% manganese. The corrosion resistance is provided by a silicon-rich band of dense precipitate formed in the alloy adjacent at least one face thereof. This band has a thickness of about 20-50 .mu.m and there is substantially less manganese in solid solution in the band than in the alloy outside the band. To form the band, a silicon-containing layer is applied to a surface of the alloy body to be protected and the composite thus formed is heat treated at a temperature of at least 550.degree. C.

Growing community of inventors

Kingston, Canada

Pierre Henri Marois