Development of innovative aluminum P/M materials and processing technologies

近年来，对燃油效率更高、排放更少的汽车的需求急剧上升。在努力实现这一目标，扩大使用轻金属合金，以减少整体车辆的重量是一个很大的汽车领域的兴趣。铝合金在这方面特别成功，但传统加工（铸造、锻造）形式尚未在一个特别有利可图的市场中获得可观的存在-结构发动机部件。由于严格的尺寸控制和优异的机械性能是主要的，而成本效益的生产是强制性的，因此进入该行业是一项不祥的任务。就前者而言，仅通过传统的金属成形操作无法获得所需的公差。这就保证了对昂贵的加工操作的需求，从而使成本增加到铝无法成为可行选择的程度。然而，可以利用铝粉冶金（P/M）固有的精密成形能力来避免这一问题，并产生高性能且具有成本效益的产品。对于美国、日本和欧洲的工程师来说，这种方法的优点已经变得显而易见，因为许多大型的研究和开发计划现在都很活跃。不幸的是，类似的项目在加拿大的发生率低得不成比例。技术进步落后，因此，加拿大的开发也落后。申请人建议在一些关键领域进行研究，这些领域对提高铝粉末冶金的使用至关重要。一个将涉及新合金系统的开发，特别是以高性能锻造合金（如AA2618）的P/M当量为中心。在另一个分支中，将追求具有优异耐磨性和高温稳定性的铝基材料的开发。在这里，将合成各种用原位形成的氮化物增强的复合材料。最后，对铝粉末冶金合金烧结钎焊技术的发展进行了研究。在这种技术中，铝基粉末的绿色致密体同时烧结和钎焊，产生具有特殊几何复杂性的具有成本效益的汽车部件。

The demand for vehicles with improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions has risen sharply in recent years.  In an effort to meet this goal, the expanded use of light metal alloys to reduce overall vehicle weight is an area of great automotive interest.  Aluminum alloys have been particularly successful in this regard yet conventionally processed (cast, wrought) forms have not attained an appreciable presence in one particularly lucrative market - that of structural engine components. Penetration into this sector is a foreboding task given that tight dimensional control and excellent mechanical properties are staples while cost effective production is mandatory.  With regards to the former, the required tolerances can not be attained through traditional metal forming operations alone. This ensures the need for expensive machining operations that increase costs to a point where aluminum fails to become a viable option. However, the precision forming capabilities inherent in aluminum powder metallurgy (P/M) can be leveraged to avoid this problem and yield a high performance yet cost-effective, product.  The merit of this approach has become obvious to engineers in the U.S.A., Japan and Europe as many large research and development initiatives are now active.  Unfortunately, the occurrence of similar programs in Canada is disproportionately low.  Technological advancement has lagged and as a result, so too has Canadian exploitation.  The applicant proposes to conduct research in a number of key areas that are pivotal to the enhanced usage of aluminum P/M.  One will pertain to the development of new alloy systems specifically centered on P/M equivalents to high performance wrought alloys such as AA2618.  In another branch the development of aluminum-based materials with exceptional wear resistance and high temperature stability will be pursued.  Here, composite materials of sorts reinforced with in-situ formed nitrides will be synthesized.  Finally, the development of sinter-brazing technology for aluminum P/M alloys will be studied.  In this technique green compacts of aluminum-based powders are sintered and brazed simultaneously yielding cost-effective automotive components of exceptional geometric complexity.