Die cast aluminum alloys for structural components

Abstract

An alloy composition comprising Al is described, wherein the alloy comprises a yield strength of at least about 130 MPa and a bend angle of at least about 20° at a 3 mm section thickness when as-cast and without further processing. Processes for forming the alloy are also described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An alloy composition, comprising:
 Al;   wherein the alloy comprises a yield strength of at least about 130 MPa and a bend angle of at least about 20° at a 3 mm section thickness when as-cast and without further processing.   
     
     
         2 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises a yield strength of at least about 130 MPa when as-cast and without further processing. 
     
     
         3 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises a bend angle of at least about 24° at a 3 mm section thickness when as-cast and without further processing. 
     
     
         4 . position of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises a flow length of at least about 1.8 m. 
     
     
         5 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises an α-Al volume fraction of at least about 90%. 
     
     
         6 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises about 0.03 wt. % to about 0.25 wt. % of Mg 2 Si phases. 
     
     
         7 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises about 0.01 wt. % to about 0.9 wt. % of Al 2 Cu phases. 
     
     
         8 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises about 0.03 wt. % to about 0.2 wt. % of AlCuMgSi phases. 
     
     
         9 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises about 0.3 wt. % to about 3 wt. % of AlFeSi phases. 
     
     
         10 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising Cu and Mg, wherein a weight ratio of Cu:Mg is about 4:1 to about 2:1. 
     
     
         11 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the alloy has an oxygen reduction factor (ORF) with respect to A380 kinetics of at most about 1. 
     
     
         12 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 Si at about 6-11 wt. %;   Cu at about 0.3-0.8 wt. %;   Mn at about 0.3-0.8 wt. %;   Mg at about 0.1-0.4 wt. %;   Fe at most about 0.5 wt. %;   V at about 0.05-0.15 wt. %;   Sr at about 0.01-0.05 wt. %;   Ti at most about 0.15 wt. %;   Cr at most about 0.03 wt. %; and   remainder Al and incidental impurities.   
     
     
         13 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 Si at about 6.5-7.5 wt. %;   Cu at about 0.4-0.8 wt. %;   Mn at about 0.3-0.7 wt. %;   Mg at about 0.1-0.4 wt. %;   Fe at most about 0.4 wt. %;   V at about 0.05-0.15 wt. %;   Sr at about 0.01-0.03 wt. %;   Ti at most about 0.15 wt. %;   Cr at most about 0.03 wt. %; and   remainder Al and incidental impurities.   
     
     
         14 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 Si at about 6-11 wt. %;   Cu at about 0.3-0.8 wt. %;   Mn at about 0.348 wt. %;   Mg at about 0.15-0.4 wt. %;   Fe at most about 0.5 wt. %;   V at about 0.05-0.15 wt. %;   Sr at about 0.01.-0.05 wt. %;   Ti at most about 0,15 wt. %;   Cr at most about 0.03 wt. %; and   remainder Al and incidental impurities.   
     
     
         15 . The composition of  claim 12 , wherein the incidental impurities are at most about 0.1 wt. %. 
     
     
         16 . An automobile article comprising the composition of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         17 . The article of  claim 16 , wherein the automobile article is an automobile chassis. 
     
     
         18 . A process for preparing an alloy, comprising:
 providing alloy components, wherein at least one of the alloy components comprises Al;   melting the alloy components to form a melted alloy; and   cooling the melted alloy to form an as-cast alloy;   wherein the as-cast alloy comprises a yield strength of at least about 130 NIPa and a bend angle of at least about 20° at a 3 mm section thickness.   
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 18 , wherein further processing is not performed on the as-cast alloy. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 18 , further comprising die-casting the melted alloy. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein die-casting is high-pressure die-casting (HPDC). 
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 18 , further comprising further processing the as-cast alloy to form a processed alloy. 
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 22 , wherein the further processing step is selected from the group consisting of heat treating, aging, solution treating, surface finishing and combinations thereof.