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Advanced Bulk Processing of Lightweight Materials for the Transportation Sector

Justin Milner (Clemson University)

Research and development into lightweight materials is essential for the transportation sector to meet the demands for fuel economy. However, these materials are usually associated with poor mechanical properties (such as strength, stiffness, and ductility) and high manufacturing costs (including: material and production costs). Advanced bulk processing of lightweight metals has been shown to improve mechanical properties through controlling the grain structure and texture. Therefore, the overall objective of this research is to develop the microstructure of various lightweight materials through multiple advanced processing techniques to meet the demands of the aerospace, defense and automotive sectors. This work targeted (i) refining the grain structure to increase strength, (ii) controlling the texture to increase formability and (iii) directly reducing processing/production cost of many lightweight material components. Advanced processing is conducted on a bulk scale by several severe plastic deformation techniques including: accumulative roll bonding, isolated shear rolling and friction stir processing to achieve the multiple targets of this project. Development and validation of the processing techniques will be achieved through wide-ranging experiments along with detailed mechanical and microstructural examination of the processed material. Accumulative roll bonding and isolated shear rolling, currently feasible on an industrial scale, is evaluated as a possible technique for processing bulk sheet materials capable of replacing more expensive grades of alloys (e.g. commercially pure titanium with Ti-6Al-4V) and enabling low-temperature and high-strain-rate formability. Furthermore, friction stir extrusion is being developed for the manufacture of lightweight tubes made from aluminum and magnesium alloys with the goal of increasing the utilization of these materials in the transportation sectors for high-strength, high-formability applications.

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