Method for preparing aluminum-yttrium alloy wire in continuous and stable temperature reduction mode
By controlling the temperature of the alloy solution and the formation of a metallic intermediate phase through additives, combined with continuous casting and extrusion processes, the problems of coarse grains and uneven grain distribution in the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wires have been solved, achieving high-performance and high-efficiency production.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202610234375.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-02-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Traditional methods for preparing aluminum-yttrium alloy wires suffer from coarse grains and uneven distribution, resulting in a high breakage rate during processing. Furthermore, these methods are cumbersome, energy-intensive, and make it difficult to achieve high-quality and efficient production.
A continuous and stable cooling method is adopted to control the temperature of the alloy solution through a medium-frequency melting furnace and a holding furnace. Aluminum fluoride, yttrium oxide, lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride are added to form a metallic mesophase. Combined with continuous casting and extrusion process, the alloy grain refinement and impurity removal are controlled to directly prepare aluminum yttrium wire rods.
This technology achieves high strength and excellent conductivity in aluminum-yttrium alloy wires, reducing energy consumption and production cycle, and improving production efficiency and product quality stability.
Smart Images
Figure CN122038832A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the field of rare earth aluminum alloy production technology, specifically relating to a method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire. Background Technology
[0002] Yttrium (Y), an important rare earth element, can form high-melting-point, highly stable compounds with aluminum and impurities in the alloy (such as oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur) when added to aluminum alloys. This process deeply purifies the melt, refines grains, inhibits recrystallization, and improves thermal stability. Therefore, aluminum-yttrium alloys possess superior high-temperature strength, creep resistance, corrosion resistance, and electrical and thermal conductivity, making them promising for applications in aerospace, high-end electronic devices, and special wires.
[0003] Currently, the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire typically involves processes such as smelting, casting, homogenization heat treatment, hot extrusion / hot rolling, multi-pass cold drawing, and intermediate annealing. However, traditional methods have a series of inherent defects when applied to aluminum-yttrium alloys, severely restricting the continuity, quality stability, and production efficiency of the wire. For example, aluminum-yttrium alloy ingots obtained by traditional casting (such as ingot mold casting and ordinary continuous casting) have coarse grains and are prone to forming large agglomerates of rare earth intermetallic compounds such as Al3Y, which then become crack sources during subsequent rolling and drawing processes, leading to wire breakage and a high breakage rate. Multi-pass cold drawing with intermediate annealing is not only cumbersome and energy-intensive, but the repeated cold work hardening and annealing also destroy the fine-grain strengthening effect brought by yttrium, resulting in an unsatisfactory match between the strength and toughness of the final wire. Summary of the Invention
[0004] To address the aforementioned shortcomings, this invention discloses a method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wires. This method is simple, easy to operate, and can solve the problem of uneven alloy crystal distribution and coarse grains causing a decline in the performance of the obtained wires during the aluminum-yttrium alloy processing.
[0005] This invention is achieved using the following technical solution: A method for continuously and stably cooling-down preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire includes the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 75-85 parts aluminum ingot, 4.5-5.5 parts aluminum fluoride, 4.5-5.5 parts yttrium oxide, 5-10 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 2-4 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them in a medium-frequency melting furnace to 750°C, then keep them at 740-760°C for 10-20 minutes to obtain molten aluminum metal; (3) Take the aluminum molten metal obtained in step (2) and heat it to 800-850℃ in a medium frequency melting furnace and keep it at that temperature. Then add aluminum fluoride, yttrium oxide, lanthanum fluoride accounting for four-fifths of the total amount of lanthanum fluoride, and calcium fluoride accounting for half of the total amount of calcium fluoride in sequence and mix them. Then continue to keep it at 800-850℃ for 30-45 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. (4) Take the alloy solution obtained in step (3) and place it in a heat preservation furnace for cooling treatment, so that the temperature of the alloy solution drops to 700℃. After the cooling treatment begins, add the remaining lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride in sequence, and then keep the alloy solution at 700~720℃ for 30~40min. (5) Take the alloy solution treated in step (4) and send it into the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by the rolling mill to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 3-15mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 18-22℃ / s. The tensile strength of the wire rod product is 385-395MPa, the elongation after fracture is 17.5-19.5%, and the conductivity is 59-61%IACS.
[0006] Furthermore, the operating frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace mentioned in step (3) is 30-40Hz.
[0007] Furthermore, in step (3), after adding aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide and keeping it at a constant temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride are added.
[0008] Furthermore, the operating frequency of the heat preservation furnace in step (4) is 30-40Hz.
[0009] Furthermore, the cooling rate of the alloy solution cooling treatment in step (4) is controlled to be 5-7℃ / s.
[0010] Furthermore, the rolling mill in step (5) is oil-cooled.
[0011] Compared with existing technologies, this technical solution has the following advantages: 1. This invention involves melting aluminum ingots and then adding aluminum fluoride, yttrium oxide, lanthanum fluoride, and calcium fluoride for smelting. The introduction of lanthanum and yttrium rare earth metals into the alloy forms a metallic intermediate phase, which effectively improves the alloy's tensile strength, elongation after fracture, and electrical conductivity. Furthermore, the addition of aluminum fluoride and calcium fluoride effectively lowers the smelting temperature and promotes the formation of smelting slag such as calcium silicate, which helps remove impurities from the alloy. The alloy melt is then cooled from approximately 800°C to 700°C at a suitable rate. During the cooling process, lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride are added. On one hand, the addition of lanthanum during grain formation helps regulate the formation of more stable and finer compound particles, resulting in better alloy strengthening. This also compensates for losses due to high-temperature burning. On the other hand, the added calcium fluoride can react with residual Si, S, P, and other impurities in the melt during the cooling process to form slag, further removing impurities.
[0012] 2. This invention directly feeds the smelted alloy solution into a continuous casting and extrusion equipment to prepare aluminum yttrium wire rods. While continuously cooling the equipment at a set temperature, casting and extrusion are carried out simultaneously, avoiding coarsening and uneven distribution of alloy grains, thereby obtaining high-performance aluminum alloy wire rod products with tensile strength of 385-395 MPa, elongation after fracture of 17.5-19.5%, and conductivity of 59-61% IACS.
[0013] 3. This invention does not adopt the traditional processing mode of casting ingots first, then homogenizing, and finally hot extrusion / drawing. Instead, it integrates alloy smelting, purification, continuous casting and hot extrusion deformation into a compact process, realizing the manufacturing from liquid metal to semi-finished wire rods. This can significantly reduce energy consumption, shorten the production cycle and reduce oxidation loss. Attached Figure Description
[0014] Figure 1 These are electron microscope images showing the microstructure of the aluminum-yttrium rare-earth alloy wire rod material prepared by the method described in Example 1. Detailed Implementation
[0015] The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples, but these are not intended to limit the invention. Specific experimental conditions and methods not specified in the following examples are generally conventional methods well known to those skilled in the art.
[0016] Example 1: A method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire, comprising the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 80 parts aluminum ingot, 5 parts aluminum fluoride, 5 parts yttrium oxide, 8 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 3 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them to 750°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace. Then, keep them at 750°C for 15 minutes to obtain molten aluminum. (3) Take the molten aluminum obtained in step (2) and heat it to 820°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace and hold it at that temperature. Then add aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide in sequence and hold it at that temperature for 8 minutes. Then add lanthanum fluoride accounting for four-fifths of the total amount of lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride accounting for half of the total amount of calcium fluoride and mix them together. Then continue to hold it at 820°C for 35 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. The working frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace is 35Hz. (4) Take the alloy solution obtained in step (3) and place it in a heat preservation furnace for cooling treatment, so that the temperature of the alloy solution drops to 700℃. After the cooling treatment starts, add the remaining lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride in sequence, and then keep the alloy solution at 710℃ for 35 minutes. The working frequency of the heat preservation furnace is 35Hz. The cooling rate of the alloy solution cooling treatment is controlled at 6℃ / s. (5) Take the alloy solution treated in step (4) and send it into the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by a rolling mill with oil cooling to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 10mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 20℃ / s.
[0017] Example 2: A method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire, comprising the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 75 parts aluminum ingot, 4.5 parts aluminum fluoride, 4.5 parts yttrium oxide, 5 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 2 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them to 750°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace, then keep them at 740°C for 20 minutes to obtain molten aluminum metal; (3) Take the molten aluminum obtained in step (2) and heat it to 800°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace and hold it at that temperature. Then, add aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide in sequence and hold it at that temperature for 10 minutes. Then, add lanthanum fluoride accounting for four-fifths of the total amount of lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride accounting for half of the total amount of calcium fluoride and mix them together. Then, continue to hold it at 800°C for 45 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. The working frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace is 30Hz. (4) Take the alloy solution obtained in step (3) and place it in a heat preservation furnace for cooling treatment, so that the temperature of the alloy solution drops to 700℃. After the cooling treatment starts, add the remaining lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride in sequence, and then keep the alloy solution at 700℃ for 40 minutes. The working frequency of the heat preservation furnace is 30Hz. The cooling rate of the alloy solution cooling treatment is controlled at 5℃ / s. (5) Take the alloy solution treated in step (4) and send it into the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by a rolling mill with oil cooling to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 15mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 18℃ / s.
[0018] Example 3: A method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire, comprising the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 82 parts aluminum ingot, 5 parts aluminum fluoride, 5.2 parts yttrium oxide, 6 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 3.5 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them to 750°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace, then keep them at 755°C for 15 minutes to obtain molten aluminum metal; (3) Take the molten aluminum obtained in step (2) and heat it to 830°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace and hold it at that temperature. Then, add aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide in sequence and hold it at that temperature for 6 minutes. Then, add lanthanum fluoride accounting for four-fifths of the total amount of lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride accounting for half of the total amount of calcium fluoride and mix them together. Then, continue to hold it at 830°C for 40 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. The working frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace is 35Hz. (4) Take the alloy solution obtained in step (3) and place it in a heat preservation furnace for cooling treatment, so that the temperature of the alloy solution drops to 700℃. After the cooling treatment begins, add the remaining lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride in sequence, and then keep the alloy solution at 715℃ for 35 minutes. The working frequency of the heat preservation furnace is 35Hz. The cooling rate of the alloy solution cooling treatment is controlled at 6℃ / s. (5) Take the alloy solution treated in step (4) and send it into the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by a rolling mill with oil cooling to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 8mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 20℃ / s.
[0019] Example 4: A method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire, comprising the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 85 parts aluminum ingot, 5.5 parts aluminum fluoride, 5.5 parts yttrium oxide, 10 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 4 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them to 750°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace, then keep them at 760°C for 10 minutes to obtain molten aluminum metal; (3) Take the molten aluminum obtained in step (2) and heat it to 850°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace and hold it at that temperature. Then add aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide in sequence and hold it at that temperature for 5 minutes. Then add lanthanum fluoride accounting for four-fifths of the total amount of lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride accounting for half of the total amount of calcium fluoride and mix them together. Then continue to hold it at 850°C for 30 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. The working frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace is 40Hz. (4) Take the alloy solution obtained in step (3) and place it in a heat preservation furnace for cooling treatment, so that the temperature of the alloy solution drops to 700℃. After the cooling treatment begins, add the remaining lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride in sequence, and then keep the alloy solution at 720℃ for 30 minutes. The working frequency of the heat preservation furnace is 40Hz. The cooling rate of the alloy solution cooling treatment is controlled at 7℃ / s. (5) Take the alloy solution treated in step (4) and send it into the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by a rolling mill with oil cooling to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 3mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 22℃ / s.
[0020] Comparative Example 1: A method for continuously and stably cooling the preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire, comprising the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 85 parts aluminum ingot, 5.5 parts aluminum fluoride, 5.5 parts yttrium oxide, 10 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 4 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them to 750°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace, then keep them at 760°C for 10 minutes to obtain molten aluminum metal; (3) Take the molten aluminum obtained in step (2) and heat it to 850°C in a medium-frequency melting furnace and keep it at that temperature. Then add aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide in sequence and keep it at that temperature for 5 minutes. Then add lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride and mix them. Then keep it at 850°C for 30 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. The working frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace is 35Hz. (4) The alloy solution obtained in step (3) is sent to the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by a rolling mill with oil cooling to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 3mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 22℃ / s.
[0021] Experimental example: Aluminum yttrium wire rods with a diameter of 10 mm were prepared according to the methods described in Examples 1-4 and Comparative Example 1, and the performance of the aluminum yttrium wire rods was tested. The specific results are shown in Table 1.
[0022] Table 1. Test results of aluminum yttrium wire rods prepared by different methods
[0023] As can be seen from the data in Table 1, the aluminum yttrium wire rods prepared according to the method described in this invention have good mechanical and electrical properties. However, in Comparative Example 1, the aluminum yttrium wire rods were prepared by directly feeding the smelted alloy solution into the continuous casting extrusion equipment. This easily leads to insufficient reaction between the rare earth elements lanthanum and yttrium and the aluminum melt, resulting in uneven distribution of the generated intermetallic compounds. Furthermore, the melt contains a high content of gas and inclusions. When such an overheated and uneven melt carrying a large number of inclusions and gases enters the continuous casting extrusion press, its solidification structure is coarse and has many defects, which reduces the performance of the wire rods and prevents the full utilization of rare earth elements such as lanthanum and yttrium.
[0024] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. A method for continuously and stably cooling-down preparation of aluminum-yttrium alloy wire, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: (1) Weigh the raw materials according to the following weight proportions: 75-85 parts aluminum ingot, 4.5-5.5 parts aluminum fluoride, 4.5-5.5 parts yttrium oxide, 5-10 parts lanthanum fluoride, and 2-4 parts calcium fluoride; (2) Take aluminum ingots and heat them in a medium-frequency melting furnace to 750°C, then keep them at 740-760°C for 10-20 minutes to obtain molten aluminum metal; (3) Take the aluminum molten metal obtained in step (2) and heat it to 800-850℃ in a medium frequency melting furnace and keep it at that temperature. Then add aluminum fluoride, yttrium oxide, lanthanum fluoride accounting for four-fifths of the total amount of lanthanum fluoride, and calcium fluoride accounting for half of the total amount of calcium fluoride in sequence and mix them. Then continue to keep it at 800-850℃ for 30-45 minutes to obtain an alloy solution. (4) Take the alloy solution obtained in step (3) and place it in a heat preservation furnace for cooling treatment, so that the temperature of the alloy solution drops to 700℃. After the cooling treatment begins, add the remaining lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride in sequence, and then keep the alloy solution at 700~720℃ for 30~40min. (5) Take the alloy solution treated in step (4) and send it into the continuous casting tundish for water quenching and continuous casting. The resulting wire rod is rolled by the rolling mill to obtain an aluminum yttrium wire rod with a temperature of 350℃ and a diameter of 3-15mm. The aluminum yttrium wire rod is naturally cooled to room temperature to obtain the wire rod product. The cooling rate of the alloy solution in the water quenching and continuous casting process is controlled at 18-22℃ / s. The tensile strength of the wire rod product is 385-395MPa, the elongation after fracture is 17.5-19.5%, and the conductivity is 59-61%IACS.
2. The method for continuously and stably cooling and preparing aluminum-yttrium alloy wire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The operating frequency of the medium-frequency melting furnace mentioned in step (3) is 30-40Hz.
3. The method for continuously and stably cooling and preparing aluminum-yttrium alloy wire according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step (3), after adding aluminum fluoride and yttrium oxide and keeping it at a constant temperature for 5 to 10 minutes, lanthanum fluoride and calcium fluoride are added.
4. The method for continuously and stably cooling and preparing aluminum-yttrium alloy wire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The operating frequency of the heat preservation furnace mentioned in step (4) is 30-40Hz.
5. The method for continuously and stably cooling and preparing aluminum-yttrium alloy wire according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling rate of the alloy solution in step (4) is controlled at 5-7℃ / s.
6. The method for continuously and stably cooling aluminum-yttrium alloy wire preparation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rolling mill in step (5) is oil-cooled.