Lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material and preparatoin method thereof

Abstract

Disclosed is a lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material, including: Mg 6.0-10.0 wt %, Zn 1.0-3.5 wt %, Si 0.1-1.3 wt %, and at least one of Mn, Cu, Zr, Sc, and Ti elements with a total amount of not greater than 0.8 wt %, and a balance of Al and inevitable impurities. Further disclosed are a method of producing a deformed aluminum alloy material, a method of producing a casting aluminum alloy material, a product and a final construct. The aluminum alloy material exhibits excellent low density, high strength, corrosion resistance, and damage resistance.

1 . A lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material comprising: Mg 6.0-10.0 wt %, Zn 1.0-3.5 wt %, Si 0.1-1.3 wt %, and at least one of Mn, Cu, Zr, Sc, and Ti elements in total amount of less than or equal to 0.8%, and a balance of Al and inevitable impurities. 
     
     
         2 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 1 , comprising: Mg 6.3-9.9 wt %, Zn 1.1-2.9 wt %, Si 0.15-1.0 wt %, and at least one of the elements Mn, Cu, Zr, Sc, and Ti elements in total amount of less than or equal to 0.6 wt %, and a balance of Al and inevitable impurities. 
     
     
         3 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 2 , comprising: Mg 6.6-9.0 wt %, Zn 1.3-2.9 wt %, and Si 0.15-0.8 wt %. 
     
     
         4 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 2 , comprising: Mg 7.1-8.8 wt %, Zn 1.5-2.8 wt %, and Si 0.25-0.7 wt %. 
     
     
         5 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 2 , comprising: Mg 7.3-8.5 wt %, Zn 1.5-2.7 wt %, and Si 0.4-0.6 wt %. 
     
     
         6 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 2 , wherein contents of Mg, Zn, and Si satisfy the relationship of: 2.5≤(9×Mg)/[(1×Si)+(8×Zn)]≤6. 
     
     
         7 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 2 , comprising one or more selected from the group consisting of:
 (1) Mn 0.10-0.50 wt %   (2) Cu 0.10-0.50 wt %;   (3) Ti 0.01-0.15 wt %;   (4) Zr 0.05-0.25 wt %; and   (5) Sc 0.05-0.30 wt %.   
     
     
         8 .- 11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 7 , comprising: Sc 0.05-0.20 wt %. 
     
     
         13 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 12 , wherein contents of Sc and Zr satisfy: 0.15 wt %≤(Sc+Zr) wt %≤0.35 wt %. 
     
     
         14 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 2 , wherein the inevitable impurities comprises elements that are unintentionally introduced as impurities during manufacturing process of alloy ingot, wherein Fe≤0.40 wt %, each of other impurity elements are ≤0.20 wt %, and a total amount is ≤0.50 wt %. 
     
     
         15 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 14 , wherein Fe≤0.20 wt %, each of other impurity elements are ≤0.10 wt %, and a total amount is ≤0.25 wt %. 
     
     
         16 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 15 , wherein Fe≤0.10 wt %. 
     
     
         17 . A method for producing deformed aluminum alloy materials, comprising the steps of:
 (1) producing an ingot of a lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material comprising: Mg 6.0-10.0 wt %, Zn 1.0-3.5 wt %, Si 0.1-1.3 wt %, and at least one of Mn, Cu, Zr, Sc, and Ti elements in total amount of not greater than 0.8%, and a balance of Al and inevitable impurities;   (2) homogenizing and/or pre-heating the produced ingot;   (3) thermally deforming the ingot to a desired processed material or a pre-processed material by one or more thermal deformation process selected from the group consisting of extrusion, rolling and forging;   (4) optionally processing the pre-processed material to the desired processed material by reheating and cold deformation;   (5) solution heat treating the processed material;   (6) rapidly cooling the treated processed material to room temperature; and   (7) naturally or artificially aging the cooled processed materials to give an aged processed alloy material.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , comprising one or more selected from the group consisting of:
 (i) in step (1), the ingot is manufactured by means of smelting, degassing, removal of inclusion and semi-continuous casting; during the smelting process, Mg, Zn is used as the core to accurately control the element content, and through online component detection and analysis, the ratio between alloying elements can be quickly supplemented and adjusted, and the entire ingot manufacturing process is completed;   (ii) in step (1), 0.0002-0.005 wt % Be is added in the form of Al—Be intermediate alloy during smelting to change the properties of the oxide film and reduce oxidation burning loss and inclusions;   (iii) in step (1), it also includes applying electromagnetic field, ultrasonic field or mechanical stirring at or near the crystallizer site;   (iv) in step (2), the homogenizing is carried out by means selected from the group consisting of: (a) a single-stage homogenization treatment in a range of 360-490° C. for a total time of 12-60 h; and (b) a two- or multi-stage homogenization treatment in a range of 360-500° C. for a total time of 12-60 h;   (v) in steps (3) and (4), the pre-heating temperature and reheating temperature before each thermal deformation process are 370-460° C., and the processing time is 1-8 h;   (vi) in step (5), the solid solution treatment requires to further adjust the sub-grain size and the recrystallized microstructure ratio in the material according to the performance requirements, and is carried out by means selecting from the group consisting of: (a) a single-, two-, or multi-stage solid solution treatment in a range of 440-500° C. for total 0.5-8 h; and (b) a progressive heating solid solution treatment in a range of 440-500° C. for total 0.5-5 h;   (vii) in step (6), the processed material is rapidly cooled to room temperature using a method selected from the group consisting of spray quenching, immersion quenching, strong air cooling and combinations thereof; and   (viii) in step (7), the artificial aging treatment is carried out by means selected from the group consisting of: (a) after completion of quenching and cooling, a natural aging at room temperature for ≥48 h; (b) within 2 h after completion of quenching and cooling, an artificial aging treatment in a range of 70-240° C. for total 6-60 h; and (c) after completion of quenching and cooling, a combination of natural aging and artificial aging with an artificial aging temperature of 70-240° C. and a time of 6-60 h.   
     
     
         19 .- 27 . (canceled) 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising, between steps (6) and (7), steps of straightening and/or pre-deforming the cooled processed material, wherein the straightening can be carried out by means of roller straightening, stretch straightening, stretch bending straightening and any combination thereof to improve the straightness of the processed materials, and the pre-deformation can be carried out by means of stretching, compression and any combination thereof to reduce the residual stress formed by quenching and cooling, so as to facilitate subsequent processing and application. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the processed material are wires, rods, pipes, sheets, plates, or forging products. 
     
     
         30 . The lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material of  claim 1  any one of, having a density of ≤2.68 g/cm 3 , a tensile strength of ≥400 MPa, and an exfoliation corrosion resistance of not lower than EA level. 
     
     
         31 .- 32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . A method for producing casting aluminum alloy materials, comprising the steps of:
 (1) preparing an aluminum alloy ingot of the aluminum alloy material of  claim 1  using smelting, degasification, removal of inclusion, sand- or metal-mold casting, or die casting, wherein during the smelting process, the concentrations of elements are accurately controlled by taking Mg and Cu as core elements; and the ratios among alloying elements are rapidly supplemented and adjusted by on-line detection and analysis of components so as to complete the casting production;   (2) solid solution heat treating the produced aluminum casting, comprising: allowing the aluminum alloy casting to undergo a single-, two-, or multi-stage solid solution treatment in a range of 440-500° C. for total 0.5-8 h, or a progressive heating solid solution treatment in a range of 440-500° C. for total 0.5-5 h; and   (3) naturally or artificially aging the aluminum alloy casting; wherein the natural aging treatment is carried out at room temperature for ≥48 h; the artificial aging treatment is carried out in a range of 70-240° C. for total 6-60 h; and a combination of natural aging treatment and artificial aging treatment is carried out with the artificial aging temperature of 70-240° C. and the artificial aging time of 6-60 h.   
     
     
         34 . A product formed by welding a lightweight, high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy material: Mg 6.0-10.0 wt %, Zn 1.0-3.5 wt %, Si 0.1-1.3 wt %, and at least one of Mn, Cu, Zr, Sc, and Ti elements in total amount of not greater than 0.8%, and a balance of Al and inevitable impurities with the same alloy or another alloy by means of friction stir welding, fusion welding, brazing, electron beam welding, or laser welding. 
     
     
         35 . The product of  claim 34 , wherein the product is a final component obtainable via various surface treatments, stamping forming, and machining. 
     
     
         36 . The product of  claim 35 , wherein the final component is a load-bearing structural component. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein step (4) comprises an intermediate annealing treatment at 350-450° C. for 0.5-6 h between the cold deformation passes. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein a progressive heating solid solution treatment is used with a heating rate of ≤60° C./min.