Lightweight, Hi-Temperature Aluminum Alloys for Better Fuel-Efficient Transportation Systems

Low-Cost Additions Expand the Stability Range of High Strength and Temperature Al-Fe-Si Alloys

These low-cost, lightweight quaternary alloys of Al-Fe-Si enriched with manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, or zinc have excellent strength and high-temperature tolerance. Companies in the transportation industry are constantly in search of lightweight materials able to withstand high temperatures that could reduce vehicle weight for better fuel efficiency. Just a 10 percent reduction in vehicle mass increases fuel efficiency by 8 percent. An aluminum-iron-silicon alloy is of interest due to its low density, strength, and low cost.

Researchers at the University of Florida have developed Al-Fe-Si alloys with quaternary alloy additions that stabilize the Al-Fe-Si in a phase optimal for 3D printing and high temperature systems.

Application

Low-cost, lightweight quaternary alloys of Al-Fe-Si that are suitable for use in additive manufacturing and that exhibit excellent high-temperature mechanical performance

Advantages

• Quaternary alloys are low-density with high temperature tolerance, forming lightweight components to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles in the automotive industry
• Component metals are inexpensive and abundant in nature, minimizing manufacturing costs
• Alloys have notable strength and hardness, making them ideal for use in the aerospace industry
• Alloys can take a powder form, facilitating intermetallic component 3D printing and additive manufacturing

Technology

The quaternary alloys consist of the Al-Fe-Si alloy system enriched with manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, or zinc. The τ11 phase of the Al-Fe-Si alloy has useful properties such as low density and corrosion resistance, but the phase has a small compositional range. An additional fourth metallic element stabilizes the Al-Fe-Si system by expanding the τ11 phase boundary.