Provided herein are new aluminum alloys comprising Ca, Mg and/or Zn and new coated aluminum alloys comprising surface layers (e.g., coatings) comprising Ca, Mn, Zn, and/or Ni that can be used in aluminum alloy products, such as clad layers. Also provided are methods of making these aluminum alloys, coated aluminum alloys, and clad layers, as well as clad products. These alloys, coated alloys, clad layers, and products possess a combination of strength and other key attributes, such as corrosion resistance, formability, and applicability of paint line pretreatments. The materials can be used in a variety of applications, including automotive, transportation, and electronics applications.

The present invention provides a process for suppressing abnormal grain growth in friction stir welded aluminum alloys by inserting an intermediate annealing treatment (“IAT”) after the welding step on the article. The IAT may be followed by a solution heat treatment (SHT) on the article under effectively high solution heat treatment conditions. In at least some embodiments, a deformation step is conducted on the article under effective spin-forming deformation conditions or under effective superplastic deformation conditions. The invention further provides a welded article having suppressed abnormal grain growth, prepared by the process above. Preferably the article is characterized with greater than about 90% reduction in area fraction abnormal grain growth in any friction-stir-welded nugget.

The present invention provides a process for suppressing abnormal grain growth in friction stir welded aluminum alloys by inserting an intermediate annealing treatment (“IAT”) after the welding step on the article. The IAT may be followed by a solution heat treatment (SHT) on the article under effectively high solution heat treatment conditions. In at least some embodiments, a deformation step is conducted on the article under effective spin-forming deformation conditions or under effective superplastic deformation conditions. The invention further provides a welded article having suppressed abnormal grain growth, prepared by the process above. Preferably the article is characterized with greater than about 90% reduction in area fraction abnormal grain growth in any friction-stir-welded nugget.

Provided is a surface hardening method for surface hardening a sulfuric acid-anodized aluminum alloy oxide layer, which includes: pre-treatment in which various foreign substances, including an oxide film, attached to a surface of an aluminum alloy are removed; sealing treatment in which the aluminum alloy having been subjected to the pre-treatment is immersed in a sealing solution, whereby fine pores formed in a film are sealed; and heat treatment in which the aluminum alloy having been subjected to the sealing treatment is charged to, and thermally treated in, a heat treatment furnace and then naturally cooled. By lowering the withstand voltage of an aluminum alloy oxide layer and increasing the hardness by subjecting the same to sealing treatment and subsequent post-heat treatment, the present invention has the effect of providing an environmentally-friendly and crack-free lightweight material that can replace steel products.

A sheet or strip made of a hardenable aluminum alloy, a vehicle part made therefrom, a use, and a method for producing the sheet or strip are disclosed. In order to insure a powerful paint bake response (PBR), it is proposed for the aluminum alloy to have from 4.0 to 5.5 wt % magnesium (Mg) and from 2.5 to 5.5 wt % zinc (Zn) and for it to be in the T4-FH state, wherein the wt % of magnesium (Mg) is greater than the wt % of zinc (Zn).

This application discloses aluminum alloy products, such as can body stock and can end stock, that have improved processing qualities in high-speed production equipment due to engineered surfaces. For can body stock, processing is improved by providing at least two different surface roughnesses. For can end stock, processing is improved by reducing anisotropy at least at the top and bottom surfaces of the can end stock.

An aluminum alloy foil having a composition contains Si: 0.5 mass % or less, Fe: 0.2 mass % or more and 2.0 mass % or less, Mg: more than 1.5 mass % and 5.0 mass % or less, and Al balance containing inevitable impurities. In the aluminum alloy foil, Mn is desirably 0.1 mass % or less in the inevitable impurities, and preferably, the tensile strength is 180 MPa or more, the elongation is 15% or more, and the average crystal grain diameter is 25 μm or less.

An aluminum alloy foil having a composition contains Si: 0.5 mass % or less, Fe: 0.2 mass % or more and 2.0 mass % or less, Mg: more than 1.5 mass % and 5.0 mass % or less, and Al balance containing inevitable impurities. In the aluminum alloy foil, Mn is desirably 0.1 mass % or less in the inevitable impurities, and preferably, the tensile strength is 180 MPa or more, the elongation is 15% or more, and the average crystal grain diameter is 25 μm or less.

A method for manufacturing a rolled product for automobile bodywork or body structure with an alloy containing Si: 0.75-1.10, Fe: max 0.4, Cu: 0.5-0.8, Mn: 0.1-0.4, Mg: 0.75-1, Ti: max 0.15, Cr: max 0.1 and V: max 0.1 is disclosed with several process steps from casting the ingot to forming and painting a car body part. The various possibilities of pre aging of the sheet as well as of the heat treatment of the part offer advantageous material properties in forming, material strength and low sensitivity to the bake hardening process which can vary depending in the part location in the car body.

A method for manufacturing a rolled product for automobile bodywork or body structure with an alloy containing Si: 0.75-1.10, Fe: max 0.4, Cu: 0.5-0.8, Mn: 0.1-0.4, Mg: 0.75-1, Ti: max 0.15, Cr: max 0.1 and V: max 0.1 is disclosed with several process steps from casting the ingot to forming and painting a car body part. The various possibilities of pre aging of the sheet as well as of the heat treatment of the part offer advantageous material properties in forming, material strength and low sensitivity to the bake hardening process which can vary depending in the part location in the car body.