Aluminum alloy composition, aluminum extrusion tube and fin material with improved corrosion durability comprising same, and heat exchanger constructed of same

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an aluminum alloy with enhanced penetration resistance for a heat exchanger, the alloy containing copper (Cu), and iron (Fe), whose contents are controlled to be equal to or smaller than predetermined contents respectively, and further containing zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), or hafnium (Hf), or a mixture thereof and the remainder being aluminum (Al). Further, the present disclosure provides an aluminum extruded tube and / or an aluminum fin with enhanced penetration resistance made of the alloy respectively. Further, the present disclosure provides a heat exchanger comprising the tube and / or fin. Addition and content-control of the alloy element may spread corrosion initiations and suppress intergranular corrosion to create uniform corrosion. In this manner, the present alloy have superior corrosion resistance compared to pitting corrosion of a previous alloy for a heat exchanger, and, at the same time, have an extrusion rate equal to that of the previous A1070.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application claims a priority to a Korean patent application number 2014-0018389 filed on Feb. 18, 2014, which claims a priority to a Korean patent application number 2013-0115043 filed on Sep. 27, 2013, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Technical Field[0003]The present disclosure generally relates to an aluminum alloy with enhanced penetration resistance for a heat exchanger, an aluminum alloy extruded tube and an aluminum alloy fin for a heat exchanger, the tube and fin being made of the alloy, and a heat exchanger comprising the tube and fin. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an aluminum alloy extruded tube and an aluminum alloy fin for a heat exchanger, and a heat exchanger comprising the tube and fin, where the tube and fin have enhanced penetration and corrosion resistances to prevent the tube and fin from penetration and damage, whic...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present disclosure provides an aluminum alloy for a heat exchanger that has better resistance to corrosion and penetration than previous alloys. The alloy contains zirconium, titanium, or hafnium, or a mixture of these elements, which reduces corrosion concentration and allows for uniform corrosion. The alloy can be used to make extruded tubes and fins for heat exchangers, resulting in better performance and durability.

Problems solved by technology

However, when aluminum undergoes corrosion, there may occur a pitting corrosion where corrosion may occur only at a local area in which the oxidized film is damaged.

Further, the corrosion may propagate and concentrate on a certain area due to electrochemical reaction with various impurities in the aluminum alloy.

This corrosion mechanism may cause an aluminum heat exchanger to be locally penetrated, leading to a leak of internal refrigerant or hot fluids.

In these countries, the aluminum heat exchanger in the home appliances may be susceptible to such a leak therefrom due to the corrosion.

This leak may cause economical loss such as a component replacement, and may lead to deterioration of the home appliances.

This may lead to the passive film damage, which may confirm the pitting corrosion initiation.

This causes a larger penetration depth relative to an actual corrosion amount.

This aluminum corrosion mechanism may cause a local penetration through the aluminum heat exchanger, and, thus, a leak of an internal refrigerant or hot fluid from the exchanger.

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