Characterization of AMAG AL6-CHA Sheet Material for Chassis Application in the Automotive Industry

Abstract

Aluminium is already extensively used in car production to reduce the CO2 emissions by weight reduction. A further beneficial effect of lightweight design can be generated in components of the chassis by reducing the weight of unsprung mass thereby enhancing the driving comfort and reducing the noise level. The medium strength alloys of the type AlMg3Mn (EN AW-5754) and AlMg3.5Mn (EN AW-5454) are currently the aluminium sheet material choice for application in chassis components. The newly developed alloy AMAG AL6-CHA was optimized with regard to chassis applications and shows the potential of significant increase of the mechanical properties compared to state-of-the-art 5xxx series alloys. AMAG AL6-CHA, which is a 6xxx series alloy with balanced Mg/Si-ratio, is characterized with regard to mechanical properties and intergranular corrosion resistance in delivery temper T4 and after artificial aging with the typical heat treatment cycle 205 °C/60 min in peak aged temper T6. Furthermore we will show the results of the Charpy-V-notch impact test and the formability is described per bend test and grain size analysis.