Lightweight multi-layer composite metal sheet products for the automotive industry

本提案旨在探索用于汽车工业的新型轻质多复合金属板产品的生产。 多层产品，作为轻金属合金、铝和镁板的组合，具有（或不具有）内部轻质钢（HSHD）薄板，将用于汽车白色车身构造，以便在轻量化的同时提供耐撞性的强度。 使用水平单带铸造（HSBC）工艺和在线轧制，我们将铸造并将两股合金流融合在一起，以便部分混合快速凝固的熔融合金，然后进行在线轧制。多合金液体将被输送到移动的水冷金属基底上的薄板的快速冷却将消除使用铝合金的DC铸造遇到的逆宏观偏析效应。铸造镁薄板的工艺将消除在必须减小镁厚度时遇到的轧制困难。 我们将开发一种新的进料系统，以便将两股液态金属合金流依次进料到皮带上;铝基，然后镁基，一个接一个。考虑到浮力的影响，我们建议薄铝层，顶部的镁层应该是我们的第一次尝试在两层产品。然后，我们将尝试铸造三层HSHD钢/Mg/Al片材产品，并测试其完整性。在凝固过程中，上部镁表面将被保护免受氧化。CFD（计算流体动力学）计算将使用我们的SGI 288核心，高性能计算机集群进行，预测液态金属流与带快速等速的方式，以形成薄的复合材料板产品。新的复合材料性能将被输入到福特汽车公司的集成计算材料工程（ICME）数据库中，与我们的微观结构和性能模型一起进行比较和验证。该项目的成果预计将为加拿大汽车行业带来新产品/技术，并为其提供必要的HQP。*

The present proposal aims to explore the production of a new lightweight multi-composite metal sheet product for the automotive industry. The multi-layer product, as a combination of light metal alloys, aluminum and magnesium sheets, with (or without) an interior thin sheet of light-weighted steel (HSHD), is to be used for auto body-in-white construction, so as to provide strength for crashworthiness with simultaneous light weighting. Using the Horizontal Single Belt Casting (HSBC) process with in-line rolling, we will cast and meld two alloy streams together, so as to partially intermix the rapidly freezing molten alloys, followed by in-line rolling. The rapid cooling of the thin sheet on the moving water cooled metal substrate, onto which the multi-alloy liquids would be delivered, will eliminate the inverse macro-segregation effects encountered using the DC casting with aluminum alloys. The process of casting a thin sheet of magnesium will eliminate rolling difficulties encountered when magnesium thicknesses have to be reduced. We will develop a new feeding system, so as to sequentially feed two streams of liquid metal alloys; aluminum-based, then magnesium-based, onto the belt, one following the other. Taking into account buoyancy effects, we propose that a thin aluminum layer, topped with a magnesium layer should be our first attempt at a two-layer product. We will then attempt to cast a three layers, a HSHD steel/Mg/Al sheet product, and test its integrity. The upper, magnesium surface will be protected from oxidation, during solidification. CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) calculations will be performed using our SGI 288 core, High Performance Computer Cluster, predicting the way in which the liquid metal flows become rapidly iso-kinetic with the belt, to form a thin composite sheet product. The new composite properties will be fed into the Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) database of the Ford Motor Company, together with our modelling of the microstructure and properties, for comparison, and for validation. The outcome of this project is expected to bring a new product/technology to Canada's automotive industry, and to provide it with the necessary HQP.**************