Method and apparatus for casting, hot rolling and annealing non-heat treatment aluminum alloys
AssigneeAlcoa Inc.
InventorJ. Daniel Bryant
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention provides a method and apparatus for casting, hot rolling and annealing of non-heat treatable aluminum alloys which comprises continuously casting, hot rolling and, in-line with the hot rolling line, heating the aluminum sheet using infrared heat. The infrared heating system uses a control to assure that the aluminum alloy is heated to the proper temperature based on one or a number of process variables, such as hot rolling exit temperature, hot rolled product exit rate in terms of speed and product dimensions, and sheet temperature at the exit of the infrared heater. Variations in the infrared heating temperature can be tolerated in the product without deviating from target mechanical properties.
Claims8
In a method of casting, hot rolling, and annealing non-heat treatable aluminum alloys having known physical properties, whereby a cast product is directly that rolled to form a hot rolled product, and the hot rolled product is directly annealed to form a final annealed product, the improvement comprising:
- (a) using latent heat in the hot rolled product while heating the hot rolled product through the use of an infrared heater from an elevated temperature caused by hot rolling to a final annealing temperature to form the final annealed product;
- and
- (b) controlling the infrared heating using a control, wherein the control uses a direct measure of the elevated temperature of the hot rolled product and one or more measures of the temperature of the final annealed product after infrared heating is completed, the gauge of hot rolled product being infrared heated, the speed of the hot rolled product as it travels through the infrared heater, and the infrared temperature calculated from known physical properties of the alloy being heated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.