Continuous fiber aluminum composite material and manufacturing method

Abstract

A continuous fiber and aluminum composite material and a manufacturing method. An embodiment comprises the following steps: preparing a plurality of continuous fibers and an aluminum material powder; mixing the continuous fibers and the aluminum material powder and performing shaping to form a fiber and metal composite blank; applying pre-heating energy to the fiber and metal composite blank to cause the fiber and metal composite blank to be heated to 50% or above the Celsius melting point temperature of the aluminum material and lower than the melting point; and applying a high extrusion pressure to the fiber and metal composite to cause the fiber and metal composite blank to produce said continuous fiber aluminum composite material. The diameter of the fiber and metal composite blank is larger than the diameter of the continuous fiber aluminum composite material. In the present invention, a low-temperature and high-pressure means of manufacturing is utilized to manufacture a continuous fiber aluminum composite material; and a low energy consumption means can be effectively used to produce a continuous fiber aluminum composite material having an excellent structure.

Description

Continuous fiber aluminum composite material and manufacturing method Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a continuous fiber aluminum composite material and a manufacturing method thereof, and in particular to a low-temperature and high-pressure manufacturing method and a finished product thereof. Background Art

[0002] Aluminum is widely used in modern industrial society. Its production volume is second only to steel, demonstrating its importance to human life. Aluminum typically occurs in alloy form, with aluminum foil and cans being examples of the most widely used materials. Aluminum products are also widely used in transportation vehicles, electronic component housings, heat sinks, and other applications due to their affordability, electrical and thermal conductivity, low density, and high specific strength. However, the strength and rigidity of aluminum alloys are still insufficient in demanding environments. For example, compared to other metals, aluminum alloys have a lower strength-density ratio, which may not provide sufficient strength for applications requiring higher strength. Furthermore, aluminum alloys are not effective for applications requiring varying strength in different directions. Furthermore, existing aluminum alloy production processes require significant energy, particularly during smelting and refining, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, as well as significant water consumption for cooling and cleaning. Consequently, developing aluminum composite materials with enhanced strength, anisotropic properties, and environmentally friendly and energy-efficient production processes has become a pressing goal in the relevant field.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to achieve an aluminum composite material with stronger strength, anisotropic material characteristics, and an environmentally friendly and energy-saving process, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material, which includes the following steps: preparing a plurality of continuous fibers and an aluminum material powder; mixing the continuous fibers and the aluminum material powder and forming them into a fiber metal composite billet; applying a preheating energy to the fiber metal composite billet so that the fiber metal composite billet is heated to a temperature above 50% of the melting point of the aluminum material on the Celsius temperature scale and below the melting point; and applying an extrusion high pressure to the fiber metal composite billet so that the fiber metal composite billet produces the continuous fiber aluminum composite material, wherein the diameter of the fiber metal composite billet is larger than that of the continuous fiber aluminum composite material.

[0005] The fiber metal composite blank is formed by placing the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a shaped part and compacting them until the aluminum material powder fills the shaped part.

[0006] The fiber metal composite blank is formed by pressing the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a plurality of aluminum cakes using a cake press, and then stacking the plurality of continuous fibers and the aluminum cakes and placing them into a certain shape.

[0007] The fiber metal composite blank is formed by using a cake press to press the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a plurality of aluminum cakes, and then stacking the plurality of continuous fibers and the aluminum cakes and covering them with a cladding material, and the cladding material is an aluminum alloy.

[0008] The material of the continuous fiber includes carbon fiber, ceramic fiber or a combination of the two.

[0009] The aluminum material powder is made of recycled aluminum material, and the aluminum material powder is all recycled aluminum material from a single source.

[0010] Wherein, the shaped part is an aluminum alloy can.

[0011] The recycled aluminum material is aluminum chips generated during a cutting process of an aluminum alloy block.

[0012] The recycled aluminum material is recycled aluminum cans or aluminum foil bag scraps that have been pre-processed and shredded.

[0013] The preheating energy heats the fiber metal composite blank A to a temperature between 50% and 85% of the melting point of the aluminum material.

[0014] The diameter ratio of the continuous fiber aluminum composite material to the fiber metal composite blank is 1 / 7 to 1 / 2.

[0015] The length of the continuous fiber is equal to the length of a major axis of the fiber metal composite blank.

[0016] The long axis lengths of the continuous fibers overlap with each other, so that any cross section of the cylindrical fiber metal composite blank A has the continuous fibers.

[0017] The continuous fibers are evenly dispersed in the cross section of the fiber metal composite blank.

[0018] The continuous fibers are concentratedly distributed in the central portion of the cross section of the fiber metal composite blank.

[0019] It can be seen from the above description that the present invention has the following characteristics:

[0020] 1. Using a low-temperature, high-pressure manufacturing method to produce composite continuous fibers and aluminum materials, the process of the present invention solves the problems of high energy consumption and difficulty in controlling the fiber arrangement direction of the traditional melting process.

[0021] 2. The manufacturing method adopted by the present invention can effectively produce a usable continuous fiber aluminum composite material with excellent structural quality in a low-energy manner, solving the technical problem of the difficulty in combining fiber materials and aluminum materials in the prior art.

[0022] 3. The low-temperature manufacturing method of the present invention can significantly save energy and avoid the large amount of aluminum oxide produced by the melting and oxidation of aluminum metal in the traditional high-temperature process, which leads to a significant decrease in thermal conductivity, thereby greatly improving the thermal conductivity effect.

[0023] 4. The present invention uses solid-state extrusion technology to produce continuous fiber aluminum composite materials in a simple and low-energy manner, so that the aluminum material and the continuous fiber interface can be tightly bonded, achieving low energy consumption, simple process but excellent anisotropic strength enhancement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the first action of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a second action of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

[0026] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a third action of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Explanation of symbols: 10: Extrusion die 20: Container 30: Extrusion and pushing mechanism 40: Extrusion high pressure A: Metal composite blank A1: Continuous fiber aluminum composite material DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing each embodiment. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely examples or embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can apply the present invention to other similar scenarios based on these drawings without inventive effort. Unless otherwise apparent from the context or otherwise noted, the same reference numerals in the figures represent the same structure or operation.

[0029] As used herein and in the claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the words "a," "an," "an," or "the" are not intended to refer to the singular but may include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "comprise" and "include" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements specifically identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list; a method or apparatus may also include additional steps or elements.

[0030] Flowcharts are used in this disclosure to illustrate the operations performed by systems according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the preceding and following operations do not necessarily need to be performed in exact order. Instead, the steps may be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. Furthermore, other operations may be added to these processes, or one or more operations may be removed from these processes.

[0031] Please refer to FIG1 , which shows a preferred embodiment of a continuous fiber aluminum composite material and a manufacturing method provided by the present invention, which includes the following steps:

[0032] Step 1: Prepare a plurality of continuous fibers and an aluminum material powder. The so-called "continuous fibers" in the present invention refer to fibers that remain continuous within a certain length range without being cut or broken. Preferably, the length is greater than 20 mm. The so-called "aluminum material" in the present invention refers to a metal element with the highest content of aluminum in the aluminum material. The so-called "powder" in the present invention refers to particles with a maximum equivalent spherical diameter of less than 10 mm. The particles can be in the form of flakes, needles, strips, spheres, or any irregular shape.

[0033] The aluminum material powder is made from a recycled aluminum material. The recycled aluminum material can be various recycled aluminum scraps. For example, the recycled aluminum material can be aluminum chips generated during the cutting process of an aluminum alloy block, or recycled aluminum cans and aluminum foil scraps that have been pre-treated and shredded, and the recycled aluminum material is cut into the aluminum material powder. Preferably, the aluminum material powder is all recycled aluminum material from a single source. The so-called single source means that the recycled aluminum material is all aluminum alloy scraps generated or recycled from aluminum alloy products produced by the same alloy system, the same Aluminum Association alloy number, or the same process. In one embodiment, the recycled aluminum material comes from aluminum alloy aluminum chips generated by the same cutting process on the same machine tool. In another embodiment, the recycled aluminum material comes from fragments of recycled aluminum alloy cans.

[0034] The material of the continuous fiber includes carbon fiber, ceramic fiber or a combination of the two. In a preferred embodiment, the continuous fiber is a ceramic fiber including silicon carbide fiber and zirconium oxide fiber.

[0035] Step 2: Mix the continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder and shape them to form a fiber metal composite billet A. The forming method includes placing the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a fixed shape and compacting them until the aluminum material powder fills the fixed shape to form the fiber metal composite billet A. Preferably, the fiber metal composite billet A is a cylinder. The density and compactness of the continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder in the fixed shape can be adjusted as needed. When the volume occupied by the continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder in the fixed shape is reduced due to compression, more continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder can be placed in the fixed shape until the continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder completely fill the fixed shape. The fixed shape includes one or more cavities, and the cavity includes one or more openings so that the continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder can be placed in the cavity. In a preferred embodiment, the shaping member is a hollow tube having a circular cross-section. The hollow tube may have the opening at both ends or only at one end. Preferably, the shaping member is made of an aluminum alloy. In a preferred embodiment, the shaping member is an aluminum alloy can. The continuous fibers may comprise a plurality of continuous fiber ribbons, a plurality of continuous fiber bundles, or a plurality of continuous fiber sheets.

[0036] Preferably, the continuous fiber can be oriented first, and then the aluminum material powder is placed in. A tensile force is applied to both ends of the continuous fiber to keep the continuous fiber in a state of tension, and the continuous fiber is stretched along a long axis direction of the shaping part. When the continuous fiber remains in a state of tension, the aluminum material powder is placed in the shaping part until the aluminum material powder completely fills the shaping part. Preferably, the length of the continuous fiber is equal to the length of the long axis of the shaping part, that is, the length of the continuous fiber is equal to the long axis length of the cylindrical body of the fiber metal composite blank A. In one embodiment, one end of a plurality of continuous carbon fiber yarn bundles is fixed to one side of the shaping part, and the other end is connected to a yarn bundle reel, and the aluminum material powder is filled until the aluminum material powder completely fills the shaping part, and then the continuous carbon fiber bundle is cut to complete the production of the fiber metal composite blank A. In another embodiment, the continuous fiber sheet is inserted into the shaping piece and is parallel to the long axis of the shaping piece, and then the aluminum material powder is put into the shaping piece until the aluminum material powder completely fills the shaping piece.

[0037] In addition to using a forming piece, the forming method in step 2 can also be to use a biscuit press to selectively mix the aluminum material powder with the continuous fibers and then press them into the fiber-metal composite billet A. After the aluminum material powder and the continuous fibers are placed into a cavity of the biscuit press, pressure is applied to the cavity to compress the aluminum material powder and the continuous fibers, and a heat source is provided to form the aluminum material powder and the continuous fibers into an aluminum cake. This aluminum cake can be used directly as the fiber-metal composite billet A, or multiple aluminum cakes can be combined and stacked to form the fiber-metal composite billet A. Preferably, multiple continuous fibers can be placed simultaneously when stacking the aluminum cakes, or the aluminum cakes and the continuous fibers can be coated with a covering material to form the fiber-metal composite billet A. Preferably, the covering material is an aluminum alloy sheet or an aluminum alloy surface material. In a preferred embodiment, the covering material is aluminum foil, which completely covers the stacked aluminum cakes and the continuous fibers to form the fiber-metal composite billet A.

[0038] Preferably, in addition to the length of multiple continuous fibers being equal to the long axis length of the fiber metal composite billet A cylinder, the length of multiple continuous fibers may be slightly shorter than the long axis length of the fiber metal composite billet A, but the long axis lengths of each continuous fiber overlap with each other, so that any cross-section of the fiber metal composite billet A cylinder has the continuous fiber.

[0039] The continuous fibers may be evenly dispersed in the cross section of the fiber metal composite blank A, or may be concentrated in the central portion of the cross section of the fiber metal composite blank A.

[0040] Preferably, the weight percentage of the aluminum material powder in the fiber metal composite stock A is between 50 and 95, so that the weight percentage of the continuous fiber in the fiber metal composite stock A is between 5 and 50.

[0041] Step 3: Please refer to Figure 2, place the fiber metal composite billet A in a container 20 and apply preheating energy to heat the fiber metal composite billet A to a temperature above 50% of the melting point of the aluminum material but below the melting point. Preferably, the fiber metal composite billet A is heated to a temperature between 50% and 85% of the melting point of the aluminum material, for example, 60%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, etc.

[0042] For example, after the fiber metal composite billet A is placed in the container 20, the preheating energy is provided in the form of thermal resistance heating to heat the fiber metal composite billet A to about 400°C.

[0043] For another example, after the fiber metal composite billet A is placed in the container 20, the preheating energy is provided in the form of electromagnetic heating to heat the fiber metal composite billet A to about 400°C.

[0044] Step 4: Please refer to Figures 2 and 3 to apply an extrusion high pressure 40 to the fiber metal composite billet A to push the fiber metal composite billet A from the cylinder 20 to an extrusion die 10, wherein the extrusion high pressure 40 can push an extrusion pushing mechanism 30 to push the fiber metal composite billet A placed in the cylinder 20 toward the extrusion die 10.

[0045] Furthermore, when applying the extrusion high pressure 40 , the container 20 first moves closer to the extrusion die 10 , as shown in FIG. 2 .

[0046] Furthermore, the extrusion high pressure 40 can be adjusted according to the different formula ratios of the fiber metal composite billet A. For example, if the ratio of the aluminum material to the continuous fiber in the fiber metal composite billet A is 90:10, the extrusion high pressure 40 can be 50kg / cm2 to 300kg / cm2, and the preferred numerical range is 100kg / cm2 to 210kg / cm2.

[0047] Please refer to Figure 3. Preferably, the fiber metal composite billet A is gradually extruded through the extrusion die 10 after passing through the low temperature (provided by the cylinder 20) and the extrusion high pressure 40 to produce a plurality of continuous fiber aluminum composite materials A1. The diameter of the continuous fiber aluminum composite material A1 is relatively smaller than that of the fiber metal composite billet A. For example, the continuous fiber aluminum composite material A1 is 1 / 7 to 1 / 2 of the diameter of the fiber metal composite billet A.

[0048] Through the aforementioned steps, the continuous fiber aluminum composite material A1 is formed by extrusion at low temperature and high pressure. Because the aluminum material is selected in powdered or crushed block form, the low temperature and high pressure extrusion process creates friction and agitation between the aluminum materials. Furthermore, the low temperature and high pressure extrusion process strengthens the bond between the aluminum material and the surface of the continuous fibers. In other words, the continuous fiber aluminum composite material A1 comprises at least one axially extended aluminum material, wherein the axially extended aluminum material is an aluminum material having a tensile axially extended metallographic structure produced by low temperature and high pressure extrusion, and the aluminum alloy and the continuous fibers are tightly bonded.

[0049] It can be seen from the above description that the present invention achieves the following effects:

[0050] 1. Using a low-temperature, high-pressure manufacturing method to produce composite continuous fibers and aluminum materials, the process of the present invention solves the problems of high energy consumption and difficulty in controlling the fiber arrangement direction of the traditional melting process.

[0051] 2. The manufacturing method adopted by the present invention can effectively produce a usable continuous fiber aluminum composite material with excellent structural quality in a low-energy manner, solving the technical problem of the difficulty in combining fiber materials and aluminum materials in the prior art.

[0052] 3. The low-temperature manufacturing method of the present invention can significantly save energy and avoid the large amount of aluminum oxide produced by the melting and oxidation of aluminum metal in the traditional high-temperature process, which leads to a significant decrease in thermal conductivity, thereby greatly improving the thermal conductivity effect.

[0053] 4. The present invention uses solid-state extrusion technology to produce continuous fiber aluminum composite materials in a simple and low-energy manner, so that the aluminum material and the continuous fiber interface can be tightly bonded, achieving low energy consumption, simple process but excellent anisotropic strength enhancement.

[0054] It should be noted that, based on the explanations and elaborations of the above description, those skilled in the art may also make changes and modifications to the above embodiments. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and described above, and equivalent modifications and variations of the present disclosure are also within the scope of protection of the claims of the present disclosure. Furthermore, although certain specific terms are used in this description, these terms are for convenience only and do not constitute any limitation on the invention.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material, characterized in that: It contains the following steps: Prepare a plurality of continuous fibers and an aluminum material powder; Mixing the continuous fiber and the aluminum material powder and forming them into a fiber-metal composite blank; Applying a preheating energy to the fiber metal composite blank so that the fiber metal composite blank is heated to a temperature above 50% of the melting point of the aluminum material on the Celsius scale and below the melting point; as well as The fiber metal composite blank is subjected to an extrusion high pressure to produce the continuous fiber aluminum composite material from the fiber metal composite blank, wherein the diameter of the fiber metal composite blank is greater than that of the continuous fiber aluminum composite material.

2. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fiber metal composite blank is formed by placing the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a shaped part and compacting them until the aluminum material powder fills the shaped part.

3. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fiber metal composite blank is formed by using a cake press to press the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a plurality of aluminum cakes, and then stacking the plurality of the continuous fibers and the aluminum cakes and placing them into a certain shape.

4. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fiber metal composite blank is formed by using a cake press to press the aluminum material powder and the continuous fiber into a plurality of aluminum cakes, and then stacking the plurality of the continuous fibers and the aluminum cakes and coating them with a coating material, and the coating material is an aluminum alloy.

5. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The material of the continuous fiber includes carbon fiber, ceramic fiber or a combination of the two.

6. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The aluminum material powder is made of a recycled aluminum material, and the aluminum material powder is all the recycled aluminum material from a single source.

7. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The shaped part is an aluminum alloy can.

8. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 6, characterized in that: The recycled aluminum material is aluminum chips generated during a cutting process of an aluminum alloy block.

9. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 5, characterized in that: The recycled aluminum material is recycled aluminum cans or aluminum foil bag scraps that have been pre-processed and shredded.

10. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The preheating energy heats the fiber metal composite billet A to between 50% and 85% of the melting point of the aluminum material.

11. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The diameter ratio of the continuous fiber aluminum composite material to the fiber metal composite blank is 1 / 7 to 1 / 2.

12. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 5, characterized in that: The length of the continuous fiber is equal to the length of a major axis of the fiber metal composite blank.

13. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The long axis lengths of the continuous fibers overlap each other, so that any cross section of the cylindrical fiber metal composite blank A has the continuous fibers.

14. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 13, characterized in that: The continuous fibers are evenly dispersed in the cross section of the fiber metal composite billet.

15. The method for manufacturing a continuous fiber aluminum composite material according to claim 13, characterized in that: The continuous fibers are concentrated and distributed in the central part of the cross section of the fiber metal composite blank.

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