Abstract
AW-7xxx alloys have been nowadays considered for greater light weighting potential in automotive industry due to its higher strength compared to AW-5xxx and AW-6xxx alloys. However, due to their lower formability the forming processes are still in development. This paper investigates one such forming process called hot stamping. The investigation started by carrying out hot tensile testing of an AW-7xxx alloy, that is, AW-7921 at temperatures between 350°C and 475°C, to measure the strength and formability. Formability was found to improve with increasing temperature and was sensitive to the strain rate. Dynamic recovery is considered as usual reason for the formability improvement. However, examining the precipitation states of the as-received condition and after hot stamping using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), the dissolution of precipitates was also believed to contribute to this increase in formability. Following solution heat treatment there was no precipitation during cooling across the cooling rates investigated (5–10°C/s). Samples taken from parts hot stamped at 10 and 20 mm s−1 had similar yield strengths. A 3-step paint baking heat treatment yielded a higher postpaint baking strength than a single step treatment.
Highlights
B-pillars and other key automotive parts demand a high strength-to-weight ratio to satisfy the roof crush and side impact standards while keeping the weight down
This work has investigated the hot stamping behaviour of AW-7921 sheet on the formability and final mechanical properties as the sheet passes through the process chain
It has shown the importance of considering the whole process chain and the effects of the thermomechanical processing contained therein
Summary
B-pillars and other key automotive parts demand a high strength-to-weight ratio to satisfy the roof crush and side impact standards while keeping the weight down. Due to poor formability at room temperature AW-7xxx alloys are mostly used in the aircraft industry/production and up to this time have only found limited use for automotive parts. A hot stamping process does not require alloys with particular tempers and can form parts at least as fast as cold forming. In this forming process, the aluminium achieves significantly higher ductility than in the warm forming process. This extends the application of hot stamping to the forming of parts with complex geometries
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