Experimental and numerical technology design for twin-roll casting of highly particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composite (AMC) strips for deep-drawing applications

• Applicants: Dr.-Ing. Thomas Grund, since 5/2024; Dr.-Ing. Kay-Peter Hoyer, since 4/2024
• Subject Area: Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 525183593

Particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (AMC) have an application potential that is limited by several boundary conditions. The boundary conditions result from reciprocally acting material-technical and production-technical problems. On the one hand, large-scale applications require robust and reproducible material production, which is mapped by a new generation of continuous AMC casting processes. On the other hand, the material qualities that can be achieved in casting processes are limited by technologically unavoidable material inhomogeneities. Up to now, melt-metallurgical primary forming processes for AMC production have been limited to aluminum casting alloys as AMC matrix. For this reason, AMC materials are primarily only cast as semi-finished products. Strips for subsequent forming processing or for AMC sheet applications do not yet exist, but would greatly expand the field of application of AMC materials. A combination of melt-metallurgical forming and (thermo-)mechanical forming enables twin-roll casting, which produces strip shaped semi-finished products with a greatly reduced proportion of material inhomogeneities compared to pure cast material. Technologically induced gradients in the cast roll structure can be reduced by the addition of melt-metallurgical active particles. The overall aim of the research project is to formulate process-microstructure property correlations in order to be able to consider AMCs in different material states in the numerical process design. The specifically applied characterization methods serve to analyze the material-process interaction in order to be able to intensify material modelling and simulation in the planned continuation of the project. For this purpose, the matrix materials selected so far primarily from cast alloys (AlSi7Mg or AlSi9Mg) are to be substituted by an age-hardening wrought alloy (EN AW-6082) in order to expand the potential of this group of materials. In addition to the associated AMC material development and process design, material characterization is carried out for the individual process stages twin-roll casting, hot rolling and deep drawing, including necessary heat treatments, in order to enable numerical prediction of forming forces, material flow, microstructure or damage.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragsteller: Dr.-Ing. Marcel Graf, until 5/2024; Dr. Olexandr Grydin, until 4/2024