Methodology to Remove or Scale Back the Solution Treatment in the Thermal Processing of the 319-Type Alloy Without Changing Material Properties

Abstract

The 319-type alloy is one of the more widely used casting alloys for propulsion applications in the automotive space (i.e., E-motor housings for battery electric vehicles (BEV) and engine blocks for internal combustion engines (ICE)). For these 319-type applications that require the highest material properties and dimensional stability, a T7 (solution and quench followed by an artificial over-age) is used. The authors will demonstrate an innovative approach to investigate if the solution treatment stage can be scaled back significantly with adjustments in artificial age parameters, while achieving the same material properties and dimensional stability had a full solution treatment been used. The impact of achieving the objective of reducing the solution treatment stage would be the lower energy cost, eliminating or reducing the bottleneck (and/or increase capacity without capital investment) of the solution furnace, and finally reduce the CO₂ footprint of the overall heat treat process, all of which are critical for the future of the North American automotive casting manufacturing.