Commercial aluminium alloys are treated by mirco-alloying with chemical elements resulting in increased tensile strength without loss of ductility

About

Existing commercial alloys are treated by adding chemical elements at a low level of up to 0.5% on top of that already present. The elements that can be used include nickel, silver, niobium, molybdenum, cerium, lanthanum, yttrium, and scandium. They result in the formation of at least one type of sub-micron or nano-sized solid particles uniformly distributed in the solidified castings. The solid phases are formed as prior phases or as eutectic phases during solidification. They are controlled to exhibit a granular morphology with specified particle sizes and distribution which are too small to be detected.

Key Benefits

Tensile strength increased by 20% at both room temperature and high temperature (250°C) versus existing aluminium alloys; Ductility maintained at the same level as for existing aluminium alloys; Finer precipitates than that of the current commercial aluminium alloys so that particles are not detectable.

Applications

Automotive Aerospace Potential for replacing wrought aluminium alloys and titanium alloys

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