Process brings more aluminium alloys into automotive

The process, which produces nano structured rods and tubes directly from high-performance aluminium alloy powder, has been demonstrated by a team at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Using a novel Solid Phase Processing approach, the team say they’ve eliminated steps that are required during conventional extrusion processing of aluminium alloy powders whilst achieving a notable increase in product ductility.

The team's research is described in a paper titled High Ductility Aluminium Alloy Made from Powder by Friction Extrusion, published in Materialia.

High-performance aluminium alloys made from powder are used in lightweight components for aerospace applications, where cost is not a limiting factor. However, these alloys have typically been too expensive for the automotive industry.

A typical extrusion process for aluminium alloy powders is energy-and process-intensive, requiring multiple steps to mass produce the material: the loose powder must be loaded into a can and degassed. The can is then sealed, hot pressed, pre-heated, and placed into the extrusion press. After extrusion, the can is removed (decanned) to reveal the extruded part made from consolidated powder.