Microstructure/property relationships for 6xxx aluminium extrusion alloys

汽车行业的全球化给加拿大金属行业带来了极大的竞争压力。因此，人们越来越意识到，福特和力拓铝业等加拿大公司必须专注于高附加值产品，以减轻车辆的重量。目前的提议是福特、力拓、加拿大铝业、滑铁卢大学和UBC合作解决这一需求。本项目研究用于汽车和轻型卡车各种零件的6xxx铝合金。这项工作的主要目标是开发基于知识的模型，以帮助行业改进6xxx产品的性能和质量。所采取的方法将是有重点的实验和最先进的建模技术相结合。这项工作的范围将从工业生产的铸态合金开始，然后包括工艺的以下方面：挤压、淬火和随后用于提高强度的热处理。对加拿大的好处包括：i)向工业合作伙伴福特公司和力拓铝业公司开发和转让特定知识；ii)培养研究生和博士后研究员(业界已确定需要高素质人才)；iii)在不列颠哥伦比亚省和滑铁卢扩大国际领先的铝合金物理冶金专业知识。

The globalization of the automotive sector is resulting in extreme competitive pressures on the Canadian metals sector. As a result, there is increased awareness that Canadian based companies such as Ford and Rio Tinto Aluminium that they must focus on high value added products which reduce the weight of vehicles. The current proposal is a collaboration between Ford, Rio Tinto Alcan, University of Waterloo and UBC to address this need. This project examines 6xxx aluminum extrusion alloys which are used for a variety of parts in automobiles and light trucks. The primary objective of this work is to develop knowledge based models which will aid industry in improving the properties and quality of 6xxx products. The approach taken will be a combination of focused experiments and state of the art modelling techniques. The scope of the work will start with industrially produced as-cast alloys and then encompass the following aspects of the process: extrusion, quenching and the subsequent heat treatment which is used to increase strength. The benefits to Canada include i) the development and transfer of specific knowledge to the industrial partners, Ford and Rio Tinto Aluminium, ii) the education of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (the need for highly qualified personnel has been identified by the industry) and iii) the expansion of internationally leading expertise on the physical metallurgy of aluminum alloys at UBC and Waterloo.**