Abstract
Al–Mn 3xxx alloys are widely used in the fabrication of multi-port extruded (MPE) tubes for aluminum heat exchangers. The industrial manufacture for those tubes consists of four steps: (1) homogenization, (2) extrusion, (3) straightening/sizing, and (4) brazing. The combination of cold work and brazing could result in abnormally coarsened grains that have negative impacts on the in-service performance of MPE tubes. A 3xxx alloy microalloyed with 0.08 wt.% Sc and 0.09 wt.% Zr was assessed with respect to the grain structures after hot deformation and brazing, and a comparison was made with the base 3xxx alloy free of Sc and Zr. The flow stress of the base alloy during hot compression at 500 °C and 1 s−1 was 48 MPa, while the alloy with added Sc and Zr showed a higher flow stress of 61.5 MPa. EBSD maps after hot deformation showed that the alloy with added Sc and Zr exhibited more resistance to dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization. After the high-temperature simulated brazing at 605 °C, the base alloy suffered from abnormal grain growth, whereas the alloy with added Sc and Zr exhibited an elongated recrystallized microstructure with a finer grain size.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under the Grant No. CRDPJ 514651-17 and Centre québécois de recherche et de développement de l'aluminium (CQRDA) under the Project 1065 and Rio Tinto Alumium.
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Bakr, A., Rometsch, P., Chen, XG. (2024). Effect of Sc and Zr Microalloying on Grain Structure After Hot Deformation and Brazing in Al–Mn 3xxx Alloys. In: Wagstaff, S. (eds) Light Metals 2024. TMS 2024. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50308-5_142
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