Evaluation and development of enabling technologies for lightweight automotive structural cast components with wrought aluminum and high performance magnesium alloys

该项目的动机是通过在底盘和车身结构部件中使用更多的AI和Mg合金来减轻汽车的整体重量；从而减少燃料的使用和对环境有害的二氧化碳气体的排放。在汽车底盘和车身结构中引入AI和Mg，将需要合金具有远超汽车结构部件严格的安全要求的机械性能和性能。现有的AI和Mg铸造合金不符合这些安全**要求，其中屈服强度超过300mpa，伸长率至少为10%是强制性的。实现汽车轻量化多材料解决方案的一个关键特征是能够成功地将这些部件连接在一起，并具有抗腐蚀和接头强度退化的能力。铸造是AI和镁合金最经济可行的制造途径。人工智能铸造合金和技术的最新进展已经证明了人工智能锻造合金的近净形铸造的有效可行性，其机械和性能性能远优于铸造合金。该联合项目旨在开发此类工艺和技术，以实现某些关键结构汽车部件的原型设计。本文将对三种AI变形合金（即6xxx和7xxx系列合金）进行控制扩散凝固（CDS）、烧蚀铸造和高压压铸半固态加工（HPDC）工艺的严格评估。**意大利Trento的研究团队将致力于开发6xxx合金系列，加拿大的研究团队将**致力于7xxx合金系列。此外，本项目还将评估某些高性能镁合金在烧蚀铸造工艺中的铸造性能，以及潜在的合金开发，以重新设计现有合金，使其更适合烧蚀铸造工艺，从而最大限度地提高铸造部件的性能。该项目的另一项任务是开发和优化一种新的不同金属连接工艺，即基于一项正在申请专利的工艺，将铸造镁部件与**本身以及其他AI和钢部件结合起来。这一举措将包括开发一个最佳的突出设计**和最佳的加热和锻造工艺，以打乱突出和锁定两种材料在一起。

The motivation for this project initiative is to reduce the overall weight of the automobile by utilizing more AI and Mg**alloys for both the chassis and body structure components; thereby, leading to reduction in the use of fuel and emission**of harmful C02 gas to the environment. The introduction of AI and Mg in the chassis and body structure of a car would**necessitate far superior mechanical properties and performance of the alloys to surpass the stringent safety**requirements for structural automotive components. The available AI and Mg casting alloys do not meet these safety**requirements wherein an yield strength in excess of 300 MPa and an elongation of at least 1 0% is mandatory. A critical**feature in achieving a light weight multi-material solution for the automotive would be the ability to successfully join these**components together with a resistance to corrosion and joint strength deterioration. Casting is the most economically**viable manufacturing route for both AI and Mg alloys. Recent advances in AI casting alloys and technology has**demonstrated the valid feasibility of enabling near net shaped casting of AI wrought alloys with its far superior**mechanical and performance properties to their casting alloy counterparts. This joint project initiative is to develop such**processes and technologies to enable prototyping of certain critical structural automotive components. Controlled**Diffusion Solidification (CDS), Ablation Casting and Semi Solid Processing using High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC)**process would be evaluated critically for three families of AI wrought alloys, namely, the 6xxx and 7xxx series of alloys.**The research team at Trento, Italy would be working on developing the 6xxx alloy series and the one in Canada would**be working on the 7xxx alloy series. Additionally, evaluating the casting of certain high performance Mg alloys in the**ablation casting process would also be carried out in this project along with potential alloy development to re-design**existing alloys to better suit the ablation casting process in order to maximize the properties and performance of the cast**components. An additional task in this project would be to develop and optimize a new dissimilar metal joining process,**in upset protrusion joining, based on a patent pending process to combine cast magnesium components with**themselves and with other AI and steel components. This initiative will include developing an optimum protrusion design**and optimum heating and forging processes to upset the protrusion and lock the two materials together.