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US 12,215,412 B2Granted
Method and system for heat treatment of metal alloy sheet
AssigneeELKEME Hellenic Research Centre for Metals S.A.
InventorsPeter Von Czarnowski, Armin Von Czarnowski
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Abstract
A method and system solution heat treat, at an elevated first temperature, a coil of aluminum alloy sheet to form a heat-treated coil and while at least a portion of the heat-treated coil is being solution heat treated, uncoil a heat-treated portion of the aluminum alloy sheet from the heat-treated coil and continuously quenching the uncoiled heat-treated portion to form a quenched sheet.
Claims20
A method of manufacturing aluminum alloy sheet comprising:
- pre-heating a coil of aluminum alloy sheet in a second furnace in a second temperature range prior to inserting the coil into a heat-treatment furnace;
- transferring, while the pre-heat-treated coil is fully coiled, the pre-heat-treated coil from the second furnace to the heat-treatment furnace;
- heating, in the heat-treatment furnace and at an elevated first temperature, the pre-heat-treated coil to form a heat-treated coil, wherein the first elevated temperature is selected so that an aluminum alloy of the aluminum alloy sheet approximates a first metallurgical state, and wherein a heat-treated portion comprises heat-treated portions successively uncoiled from the heated coil;
- while at least a portion of the heat-treated coil remains in the heat-treatment furnace:
- uncoiling a heat-treated portion of the aluminum alloy sheet from the heat-treated coil;
- passing the uncoiled heat-treated portion of the aluminum alloy sheet through an outlet of the heat-treatment furnace, wherein the uncoiled heat-treated portion, immediately before quenching, has a temperature within about 10° C. of the elevated first temperature and has a temperature at least about 20° C. below a solidus temperature of the uncoiled heat-treated portion;
- and
- continuously quenching, by a quenching unit, the uncoiled heat-treated portion to form a quenched sheet.
5 more elements
A method comprising:
- solution heat treating, at an elevated first temperature, a coil of aluminum alloy sheet to form a heat-treated coil;
- while at least a portion of the heat-treated coil is being solution heat treated:
- uncoiling a heat-treated portion of the aluminum alloy sheet from the heat-treated coil;
- continuously quenching the uncoiled heat-treated portion to form a quenched sheet;
- and
- subjecting the quenched sheet to an additional heat treatment after quenching, wherein the heat-treated portion of the quenched sheet is subject to stretching at an elevated temperature ranging from about 75 to about 250° C., and wherein the elevated first temperature is at least about 5° C. lower than a solidus temperature of the aluminum alloy.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.