Pleva, Alexis
(2023)
Increasing Fe Tolerance of 6022 Aluminum Sheet for Hemming Applications.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Increasing awareness of the impact that industrial processes have on the environment has broadly motivated efforts to better balance economic and environmental sustainability. The automotive industry is increasingly interested in leveraging scrap-based aluminum alloys due to (1) the lightweighting benefits of aluminum relative to steel components and (2) the 95% reduction in energy costs associated with fabricating scrap-based versus prime-based aluminum alloys. However, the adoption of scrap-based aluminum alloys is complicated by the expected increase in trace impurities, such as Fe, which are known to affect the mechanical behavior and formability of aluminum alloy sheet. As such, it is critical that strategies be developed to increase the tolerance of automotive aluminum sheet alloys to increasing impurity content.
In this thesis, the effect of modifications to the bulk alloy composition (Si-to-Mg ratio) and extent of cold work on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and formability of AA6022 containing either high or low Fe content is studied. Results reveal that modifications in bulk alloy composition do affect the mechanical behavior and formability, but does not significantly improve the Fe tolerance. Conversely, increasing the cold work level broadly resulted in acceptable levels of formability for both evaluated Fe contents. This behavior is linked to the propensity of the higher cold work level to promote more homogeneous grain structure and a smaller grain size, which are known to promote good formability. The thesis concludes with initial correlations between hem performance and obtained mechanical properties to help guide future material selection efforts.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
14 September 2023 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
17 July 2023 |
| Approval Date: |
14 September 2023 |
| Submission Date: |
26 July 2023 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
74 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Materials Science and Engineering |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
automotive, sustainability, characterization, aluminum |
| Date Deposited: |
14 Sep 2023 13:44 |
| Last Modified: |
14 Sep 2023 13:44 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/45154 |
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