Development of Al-Mg-Si-(Cu) Alloys for Automotive Body Panels and the Related Ageing Behaviours

In this work, Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys for automotive body panels were designed and the related ageing behaviours were discussed in detail to help understand natural ageing and pre-ageing, as well as their influence on the subsequent paint-bake response. The clustering behavior of these Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys in different ageing conditions was investigated by hardness / yield strength and electrical conductivity testing. The microstructure was investigated by using Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) technique, along with Scanning Electron Microscopy with Backscattered Electron Detector (BSE). The results show that the paint bake response is strongly influenced by the pre-ageing and natural ageing conditions. Both alloys show serrated yielding in a short natural ageing condition. Immediate high-temperature pre-ageing treatments were found to give a promising hardening response during the subsequent artificial ageing/ paint baking at 170oC.