Development of Twin-Belt Cast AA5XXX Series Aluminum Alloy Materials for Automotive Sheet Applications

摘要

Process routes for 5XXX series aluminum alloy sheet produced with an advanced twin-belt caster (FLEXCASTERTM) have been successfully trialed, and are now in production. The FLEXCASTTM 5XXX sheet has finer intermetallic compounds and grains compared to conventional DC processed 5XXX aluminum alloy sheet, as a consequence of the higher cooling rate during solidification. Optimization of composition and refinement of microstructure has resulted in superior dome stretchability and lower susceptibility to SCC than DC5182 sheets. Moreover, FLEXCAST 5XXX aluminum alloy sheet shows good performance in adhesive bonding and coating tests, critical for automotive structural parts.