Impurity tolerance and low cost route for aluminium sheet production
Geoff Scamans, Principal Scientist, Innoval Technology, UK

It is difficult for aluminium sheet to be cost competitive with steel sheet for automotive applications if its production is based on conventional fabrication from large rolling blocks of primary metal alloys. However, as the energy consumed in recycling is less than 5% of that used to make the primary metal and 75%, or more than 500 million tonnes, of the aluminium primary metal produced since 1888 is still in use as a global metal inventory it makes sense to examine the manufacture of aluminium automotive sheet from scrap. Aluminium scrap, that can be perpetually recycled, will become more and more available from transport and architectural applications particularly as tougher landfill and end of vehicle life legislation comes into force.

The main issues are impurity tolerance and the use of production routes that minimise conversion costs. The corrosion properties of block cast AA6011 sheet made from secondary metal have been studied as part of an EU funded project and presently high iron (up to 0.4 wt%) AA5754 sheet made from melts subjected to high levels of shear and turbulence prior to casting is being evaluated.

The prospects for the production of high performance and durability aluminium automotive sheet from recycled metal will be discussed as this could provide the economic breakthrough that allows the large potential environmental benefits of mass produced aluminium intensive vehicles to be realised.

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