Powder metallurgy tungsten alloys for aluminium die casting toolings

• Grant number: 22/12100-9
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: May 01, 2023
• End date: April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Francisco Giraldes Arieta Filho
• Grantee: Francisco Giraldes Arieta Filho
• Company: Brats Indústria e Comércio de Produtos Metálicos Especiais Ltda. - ME
• CNAE: Fabricação de produtos de metal não especificados anteriormente
• City: Cajamar
• Pesquisadores principais: Daniel Rodrigues ; Paulo Marino Marchina
• Associated researchers: Suzilene Real Janasi
• Associated research grant(s): 24/13417-1 - Powder Metallurgy Tungsten Alloys for Aluminium Die Casting Toolings, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/04296-3 - Powder metallurgy tungsten alloys for aluminium die casting toolings, BP.PIPE

Abstract

The global market for aluminum die casting parts, estimated at $77 billion in 2021, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.2% and reach USD 144 billion in 2030 [1], with the automotive vehicle industry being the driving force of this increase due to automakers' continued pursuit of vehicle weight reduction and better energy efficiency (for all motors types, e.g., internal combustion, hybrid and electrical). Brazil is a very important pole within this context due to the significant number of international automakers already installed in the country as well as the entire production chain involved, with emphasis on existing toolmakers and high-tech aluminum foundries making toolings and die-cast parts attending the high quality and productivity required by the OEMs. However, it is also known that the profitability of aluminum die-cast processes depend on numerous factors and one of the most important one is the life and performance of the materials used in the toolings which for the vast majority, are made of tool steels similar to the AISI H13 standard (and modifications). Nevertheless and inherent to the aluminum injection process, unwanted surface defects will occur in the toolings such as thermal fatigue cracks, aluminum soldering and erosion, which, depending on their magnitudes, will cause early interruptions in the casting process to carry out repair work and recovery of the toolings causing a significant deleterious impact on the final cost of the cast parts. The thermal fatigue cracks are caused by the high thermal gradient present in the injection process that generates significant tensile thermal stresses on the steel surface. On the other hand, soldering is the formation of complex intermetallic phases (based on Al-Fe-Si) which adhere to steel, and it is caused by the ease of Fe of steel to be dissolved in liquid aluminum. On the other hand, erosion is caused by the effect of high temperatures, speeds and pressures of liquid aluminum and normally observed in the entrance gates and die-cast sleeves. Nowadays, the mentioned defects can be substantially attenuated with the help of computer simulations, new steels and surface coatings and the use of additive manufacturing. Alloys or WHA alloys, produced by powder metallurgy via liquid phase sintering which present a Nevertheless, for radically minimizing them the only way is through the use of heavy tungsten unique combination of very high thermal conductivity, very low reactivity with liquid aluminum and low coefficient of thermal expansion if compared with steels. These advantages were soon realized and since the early 1990s numerous WHA alloys have been successfully produced in the USA, Europe and ASIA for aluminum die casting toolings. Nevertheless, to date, there is no production of WHA alloys in Brazil which has been seriously affecting the manufacture of high performance toolings by the Brazilian moldmakers as well as the aluminum foundries that are forced to import these alloys from abroad. In order to revert this situation, this research proposal is aimed at developing, producing and patenting in Brazil a new WHA alloy for use in aluminum die casting toolings with quality and properties equal to or superior to commercial alloys available in the international market. [1] Aluminum Die Casting Market (By Production Process: Pressure Die Casting and Others; and By Application: Transportation, Industrial, Building & Construction, Telecommunication, Consumer Durables, Energy, and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, Regional Outlook, and Forecast 2021 - 2030; https://www.precedenceresearch.com/aluminum-die-casting-market (AU)