Aluminum alloys having iron, silicon, vanadium and copper

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016138400-A1
Application number	US-201514942534-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 16, 2015
Priority date	Nov 17, 2014
Publication date	May 19, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

New aluminum alloys having iron, vanadium, silicon and copper are disclosed. The new alloys may include from 3 to 12 wt. % Fe, from 0.1 to 3 wt. % V, from 0.1 to 3 wt. % Si, and from 1.0 to 6 wt. % Cu, the balance being aluminum and impurities. The new aluminum alloys may be produced via additive manufacturing techniques, which may facilitate rapid solidification of a molten pool of the aluminum alloy.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An aluminum alloy consisting essentially of:
from 3 to 12 wt. % Fe; from 0.1 to 3 wt. % V; from 0.1 to 3 wt. % Si; and from 1.0 to 6 wt. % Cu; the balance being aluminum and impurities.

2 . An aluminum alloy body made from the aluminum alloy of claim 1 .

3 . The aluminum alloy body of claim 2 , wherein the aluminum alloy body is in the form of an engine component for an aerospace vehicle.

4 . The aluminum alloy body of claim 2 , comprising from 5 to 35 vol. % AlFeVSi dispersoids.

5 . The aluminum alloy body of claim 4 , wherein the AlFeVSi dispersoids comprise at least some copper.

6 . The aluminum alloy body of claim 2 , comprising a cellular structure comprising iron and copper.

7 . A method of making an aluminum alloy body, comprising:
(a) dispersing a powder comprising in a bed, wherein the powder consists essentially of:
from 3 to 12 wt. % Fe;
from 0.1 to 3 wt. % V;
from 0.1 to 3 wt. % Si; and
from 1.0 to 6 wt. % Cu,
the balance being aluminum (Al) and impurities;
(b) selectively heating a portion of the powder to a temperature above the liquidus temperature of the particular aluminum alloy body to be formed; (c) forming a molten pool having the Fe, V, Si, Cu, and Al; (d) cooling the molten pool at a cooling rate of at least 1000° C. per second; and (e) repeating steps (a)-(d) to form an additively manufactured aluminum alloy body.

8 . The method of claim 7 , comprising:
completing the additively manufactured aluminum alloy body, thereby realizing a final aluminum alloy product; naturally aging the final aluminum alloy product; and after the natural aging, artificially aging the final aluminum alloy product.

9 . The method of claim 8 , comprising:
after the naturally aging step, deforming the final aluminum alloy product by from 1 to 10%.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the artificial aging comprises:
heating the final aluminum alloy product at a temperature of from 125° C. to 300° C. and for a period of from 2 to 48 hours.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the final aluminum alloy product is in the form of an engine component for an aerospace or automotive vehicle, wherein the method comprises:
incorporating the engine component into the aerospace or automotive vehicle.

12 . The method of claim 11 , comprising:
operating the aerospace or automotive vehicle.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the final aluminum alloy product is a compressor wheel for a turbo charger.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the final aluminum alloy product is a blade for a turbine.

15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the final aluminum alloy product is a heat exchanger.

Assignees

• Alcoa Inc

Inventors

• Karabin Lynette M
• Yanar Cagatay
• Heard David W
• Wang Wei

Classifications

• B22F10/66

  by mechanical means · CPC title

• B22F10/64

  by thermal means (control of energy beam parameters for post heating B22F10/364) · CPC title

• B22F10/28

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title

• B22F5/009 Primary

  of turbine components other than turbine blades (of turbine blades B22F5/04) · CPC title

• F01D5/12 Primary

  Blades ({specially adapted for radial flow machines or engines F01D5/04}; blade roots F01D5/30; rotors with blades adjustable in operation F01D7/00; stator blades F01D9/02) · CPC title