Enhancing the Sustainability of Aluminium Production and Products

This project is associated with the EPSRC LightForm programme grant (http://lightform.org.uk/), led by the University of Manchester, in collaboration with Cambridge University and Imperial College. The overall goals of LightForm are to develop the enabling science to embed materials engineering into manufacturing practice, driving improved performance and sustainability in applications of Al, Mg and Ti alloys.
This DTP-funded project is in collaboration with Norsk Hydro (Norway and UK), who are providing a CASE top-up. As the Al industry strives for an increasingly circular economy, there is an urgent need to address the implications of impurity build-up on the formability, microstructure and final properties of wrought alloys. The objectives of this project are: (a) targetted experimental and modelling work on the sensitivity of key process steps to specific impurities, e.g. extrudability, sheet formability and age hardening of 6000 series alloys containing increased levels of Mn; (b) exploration of the potential for "alloy compensation", i.e. further alloying additions that counteract the detrimental effects of higher impurity levels in wrought Al alloys.