A high-efficiency heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles

Abstract

The invention relates to an efficient heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles, wherein the temperature in an aging furnace is controlled to be 185°C, the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace is controlled to ensure that the time from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace for each row of aluminum profiles is constant at 3h, and the aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after reaching the insulation time, and air cooling is performed during the process of leaving the furnace; the capacity of the aging furnace is 60 rows of aluminum profiles, and 2 rows of aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together each time, and 2 rows of aluminum profiles are put into the furnace together at the same time. Compared with the traditional process, the present invention has the advantages of short time consumption, continuous operation, low energy consumption, high degree of automation, high production capacity, etc.; an air cooling process is performed during the process of leaving the furnace. The high temperature in the furnace contacts the air outside the furnace to form air convection, which accelerates the air cooling process of the aluminum profiles leaving the furnace, thereby achieving the process purpose of air cooling of the aluminum profiles. In the traditional aging process, after the aluminum profiles reach the insulation time, they generally need to go through a 20-minute air cooling process in the furnace before leaving the furnace. Compared with the traditional aging process, the air cooling time is saved and the energy consumption is also saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of aluminum alloy processing, in particular to a high-efficiency heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles. Background Art

[0002] Aging treatment is an important heat treatment process to improve the strength, hardness and toughness of aluminum alloys. It is also called low-temperature tempering. It is a process in which the quenched aluminum alloy parts are heated to a certain temperature, kept at this temperature for a certain period of time, and then air-cooled to room temperature to decompose the supersaturated solid solution and stabilize the alloy matrix structure.

[0003] Equipment status: At present, the existing aluminum aging furnace technologies on the market mainly include: horizontal box-type aging furnace: the furnace is a horizontal box structure, and the aluminum is placed on the frame car in the furnace for aging treatment. Horizontal roller-bottom aging furnace: the furnace is a horizontal roller structure, and the aluminum is placed on the roller and passes through the furnace for aging treatment. Vertical pit aging furnace: the furnace is a vertical pit structure, and the aluminum is vertically suspended in the furnace for aging treatment.

[0004] Process status: Incomplete artificial aging: Heat the casting to 150-170℃ and keep it warm for 3-5h to obtain good tensile strength, good plasticity and toughness, but low corrosion resistance. Complete artificial aging: Heat the casting to 175-185℃ and keep it warm for 5-24h to obtain sufficient tensile strength (i.e. the highest hardness but low elongation). Overaging: Heat the casting to 190-230℃ and keep it warm for 4-9h to reduce the strength and improve the plasticity to obtain better stress resistance and corrosion resistance, also known as stabilized tempering.

[0005] In all three aging methods, there is a process of aluminum materials entering the furnace as a whole and taking them out as a whole. The whole furnace of aluminum materials goes through the following process: heating up → keeping warm → reaching temperature → cooling → taking them out of the furnace.

[0006] The traditional aluminum aging process generally has the following problems: 1. Time-consuming: In addition to the insulation time, it requires not only heating time but also cooling time.

[0007] 2. Intermittent work: The traditional aging process uses the whole furnace of aluminum materials to enter and take out of the furnace, which cannot be operated continuously.

[0008] 3. High energy consumption: The traditional aging furnace has a large furnace space, and the process heating process requires a lot of energy to heat the air in the furnace.

[0009] 4. Low degree of automation: Traditional aging process mostly uses manual loading and unloading operations, using forklifts or other mechanical equipment, intermittent work, which is cumbersome, with low degree of automation and low production efficiency.

[0010] 5. Low production capacity: The traditional aging process is limited by the limited volume of the aging equipment, and the production capacity is low. The horizontal furnace volume is limited, and the number of layers cannot be too many, otherwise it will be difficult to load and unload and the safety is poor. Summary of the invention

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide an efficient heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles, so as to overcome at least one of the above problems.

[0012] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solutions adopted in the present invention are as follows: An efficient heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles, wherein the efficient heat treatment process adopts a completely artificial aging process, and the specific process is as follows: The temperature in the aging furnace is controlled at 185℃~190℃, and the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace is controlled to ensure that the time for each row of aluminum profiles from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace is constant at 3h. The aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after the insulation time is reached, and are air-cooled to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace.

[0013] Aging treatment is divided into two types: natural aging and artificial aging. Full artificial aging is particularly suitable for occasions where continuous production is required and natural aging is not allowed. Artificial aging can significantly improve the mechanical properties and stability of the material by keeping the metal material at a specific temperature (such as 185°C) for a certain period of time (such as 3 hours), while improving the processing accuracy and dimensional stability. The efficient heat treatment process of aluminum alloy extruded profiles adopts this aging process, that is, keeping the temperature at 185°C for 3 hours to achieve the expected performance effect.

[0014] Complete artificial aging: 185℃, keep warm for 3h, to meet customers' requirements on mechanical properties of products.

[0015] The efficient heat treatment process in the present invention adopts an innovative continuous aging method, which is significantly different from the traditional aging furnace process, that is, it is different from the "heating → insulation → cooling → furnace discharge" process. In the new vertical aging furnace equipment, the equipment is cleverly set in mid-air, and its entrance and exit are both located at the bottom of the furnace. The opening design is compact and practical, and can accommodate the entry and exit of two beams of aluminum profiles at the same time. Except for the inlet and outlet at the bottom, the rest of the aging furnace is kept closed to ensure the stability and efficiency of the heat treatment environment.

[0016] The continuous production aging furnace equipment always maintains a normal process temperature of 185℃, and the furnace can accommodate 60 beams of aluminum profiles for aging treatment at the same time. After entering the aging furnace, each beam of aluminum profile will stay in the furnace for at least 3 hours according to the established process requirements to ensure that it is fully aging. When the predetermined aging time is reached, every two beams of aluminum profiles will move down from the outlet at the bottom of the aging furnace and move out smoothly.

[0017] The biggest highlight of this efficient aging process is that it completely abandons the heating and cooling process in traditional aging furnace equipment, thereby greatly improving production efficiency. The time required for each beam of aluminum profile to be heated from room temperature to 185°C does not exceed 10 minutes, and no additional heating or cooling operations are required during the process of moving in the furnace and completing the 3-hour aging reaction. When the aluminum profiles reach the predetermined aging time, they will naturally cool to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace, and this cooling process also does not exceed 10 minutes.

[0018] This efficient heat treatment process, with its innovative continuous aging method and optimized equipment design, has achieved efficient and automated aging treatment of aluminum profiles, bringing significant production benefits and cost advantages to the aluminum processing industry.

[0019] Furthermore, the aging furnace has a capacity of 60 rows of aluminum materials, with 2 rows of aluminum materials being taken out of the furnace together at a time, and 2 rows of aluminum materials being put into the furnace together at the same time.

[0020] Furthermore, the high-efficiency heat treatment controls the temperature in the aging furnace to 185°C, controls the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace to ensure that the time for each row of aluminum profiles from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace is constant at 3 hours, and the aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after reaching the insulation time, and are air-cooled to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace. Beneficial Effects

[0021] Compared with the traditional aluminum aging process, the present invention has the following advantages: 1. Short time consumption: It saves the time of loading and unloading aluminum materials, and saves the time of heating up and cooling down aluminum materials by air.

[0022] 2. Continuous work: Aluminum materials are continuously fed in and out, realizing continuous operation, with very high production efficiency. It is also conducive to the arrangement of production plans and the establishment of intelligent production systems.

[0023] 3. Low energy consumption: The process of heating up and cooling down the aging furnace in the traditional aging process is eliminated. This process consumes a lot of energy, and this part of energy consumption is saved.

[0024] 4. High degree of automation: Aluminum materials do not need to be put into or taken out of the furnace by forklift or other loading and unloading equipment. The operation is simple and can be operated continuously. The degree of automation and production efficiency are very high, which is conducive to the construction of intelligent production system.

[0025] 5. High production capacity: In the traditional aging process, the aging process is the bottleneck of production. The production speed of the aging process cannot keep up with the production speed of the extrusion process. With the same investment in aging equipment, the continuous aging process can nearly double the production capacity.

[0026] 6. Cancel the air cooling in the furnace: 3 rows of aluminum materials are taken out of the furnace together after reaching the holding time, and the air cooling process is carried out during the process. The high temperature in the furnace contacts the air outside the furnace, forming air convection, which accelerates the air cooling process of the aluminum materials out of the furnace and achieves the process purpose of air cooling of the aluminum materials. In the traditional aging process, after the aluminum materials reach the holding time, they generally need to go through a 20-minute air cooling process in the furnace before being taken out of the furnace. Compared with the traditional aging process, the air cooling time is saved, and the aging furnace cools down to room temperature and then heats up to the holding temperature again, which consumes a lot of energy, and this part of energy consumption is also saved. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention is further described below by way of examples, but the present invention is not limited to the scope of the examples. The experimental methods in the following examples without specifying specific conditions are carried out according to conventional methods and conditions, or selected according to the product specifications.

[0028] An efficient heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles, wherein the efficient heat treatment process adopts a completely artificial aging process, and the specific process is as follows: The temperature in the aging furnace is controlled at 185°C, and the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace is controlled to ensure that the time from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace for each row of aluminum profiles is constant at 3 hours. The aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after reaching the insulation time, and are air-cooled to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace; The capacity of the aging furnace is 60 rows of aluminum materials. Two rows of aluminum materials are taken out of the furnace together each time, and two rows of aluminum materials are put into the furnace together at the same time.

[0029] The above process is used to produce different batches of aluminum profiles, and the specific product performance parameters are as follows: 1. On January 28, No. 3 furnace, the details are as follows:

[0030]

[0031] 2. On January 29, furnace 3#, the details are as follows:

[0032]

[0033] The above data also need to be compared with the hardness of the aluminum alloy profiles produced by the traditional process, and it can be seen from the comparison that the hardness performance of the aluminum alloy profiles produced by the present invention is better.

[0034] Example 2

[0035] An efficient heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles, wherein the efficient heat treatment process adopts a completely artificial aging process, and the specific process is as follows: The temperature in the aging furnace is controlled at 190°C, and the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace is controlled to ensure that the time from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace for each row of aluminum profiles is constant at 3 hours. The aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after the insulation time is reached, and are air-cooled to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace; The capacity of the aging furnace is 60 rows of aluminum materials. Two rows of aluminum materials are taken out of the furnace together each time, and two rows of aluminum materials are put into the furnace together at the same time.

[0036] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present invention, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. An efficient heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles, characterized by: The high-efficiency heat treatment controls the temperature in the aging furnace to 185°C-190°C, controls the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace to ensure that the time for each row of aluminum profiles from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace is constant at 3h, and the aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after reaching the insulation time, and are air-cooled to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace.

2. The high-efficiency heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The capacity of the aging furnace is 60 rows of aluminum materials. Two rows of aluminum materials are taken out of the furnace together each time, and two rows of aluminum materials are put into the furnace together at the same time.

3. The high-efficiency heat treatment process for aluminum alloy extruded profiles according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The high-efficiency heat treatment controls the temperature in the aging furnace to 185°C, controls the moving speed of the aluminum profiles in the aging furnace to ensure that the time for each row of aluminum profiles from entering the furnace to leaving the furnace is constant at 3 hours, and the aluminum profiles are taken out of the furnace together after reaching the insulation time, and are air-cooled to room temperature during the process of leaving the furnace.

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