Granted Patent B2

US 12,492,453 · App. 17/124,711 · Granted Dec 9, 2025

Inventors: Joseph R. Croteau (Boston, MA); Nhon Q. Vo (Winchester, MA); Joshua P. Dorn (Waltham, MA)

Assignee: NanoAL LLC

C22C21/10B22F1/065B22F10/25B22F10/28B22F10/64B23K35/0227B23K35/288B33Y10/00B33Y40/10B33Y70/00C22C1/026C22F1/053B22F2301/052B33Y80/00

Abstract

Claims (53)

1 . A 7000-series aluminum alloy comprising:

10 to 12% by weight zinc;

1 to 4% by weight magnesium;

1.2 to 2% by weight of a transition metal, wherein the transition metal is zirconium;

0 to 3% by weight copper; and

aluminum as the remainder;

wherein the alloy does not comprise any intentionally added scandium, and wherein impurities of manganese, chromium, silicon, and iron combined are less than or equal to 0.5% by weight.

2 . The 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 , comprising 1 to 3% by weight copper.

3 . The 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 , wherein the alloy comprises an aluminum matrix with a simultaneous dispersion of Zn 2 Mg precipitates, Al 3 Zr primary precipitates, and Al 3 Zr nano-scale precipitates.

4 . The 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 3 , wherein the Al 3 Zr primary precipitates have an average diameter ranging from 0.05 to 1.5 μm, and the Al 3 Zr nano-scale precipitates have an L1 2 crystal structure and an average diameter ranging from 1 to 100 nm.

5 . The 7000-series Aluminum alloy of claim 1 , wherein the not intentionally added scandium is present in less than 0.05% by weight scandium.

6 . The 7000-series Aluminum alloy of claim 1 , wherein the silicon and iron impurities in combination are less than or equal to 0.3% by weight.

7 . The 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 , wherein the alloy has an average grain size after a solutionizing heat treatment of less than 100 μm.

8 . The 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 , fabricated into a rod, a wire, a ribbon, a powder, or chips.

9 . The 7000-series Aluminum alloy of claim 8 , wherein the powder is fabricated by a process selected from the group consisting of gas-atomizing, plasma-atomizing, rotating-electrode processing, and mechanical alloying.

10 . The 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 , fabricated into a component having a yield strength greater than 580 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength greater than 600 MPa, and an elongation at failure of more than 2%.

11 . The aluminum alloy of claim 1 , wherein the alloy possesses a strength to weight ratio at room temperature of from 120 MPa·cm 3 /g to 370 MPa·cm 3 /g.

12 . A 7000-series aluminum alloy selected from the group consisting of:

a) Al-12Zn-2.6Mg-1.4Zr;

b) Al-11Zn-3.2Mg-1.4Zr;

c) Al-10Zn-3.0Mg-1.2Zr; and

d) Al-11Zn-2.5Mg-1Cu-1.5Zr,

wherein impurities of manganese, chromium, silicon, and iron combined are less than or equal to 0.5% by weight.

13 . A 7000-series aluminum alloy comprising:

10 to 12% by weight zinc;

1 to 4% by weight magnesium;

1.2 to 2% by weight zirconium;

1 to 4% by weight copper; and

aluminum as the remainder;

wherein the alloy does not comprise any intentionally added scandium, and

wherein impurities of manganese, chromium, silicon, and iron combined are less than or equal to about 0.5% by weight.

14 . A method of fabricating the 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 , the method comprising subjecting the aluminum alloy to a rapid solidification process selected from a group consisting of melt spinning, melt extraction, beam glazing, spray deposition, gas atomization, plasma atomization, and plasma spherization.

15 . A method of manufacturing a net-shape component or a near-net-shape component, the method comprising:

subjecting the 7000-series aluminum alloy of claim 1 to an additive manufacturing process to manufacture the net-shape component or the near-net-shape component.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the 7000-series aluminum alloy is a rod, a wire, a ribbon, a powder, or chips.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the 7000-series aluminum alloy is a powder.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the powder is a spherical aluminum alloy powder.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the additive manufacturing process includes powder bed fusion or selective laser melting, and a laser is used to melt and fuse the powder into a net-shape, or near-net-shape component.

20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the additive manufacturing process includes powder directed energy deposition, and a laser is used to melt and fuse a blown powder onto the net-shape or near-net-shape component.

21 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the additive manufacturing process includes powder bed fusion, selective laser melting, or powder-directed energy deposition.

22 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the additive manufacturing process Includes melting the 7000-series aluminum alloys and the 7000-series aluminum alloy as a layer to a preexisting substrate or a previously deposited layer of the aluminum alloy.

23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein the fused layer undergoes rapid solidification to provide a net-shape, or near-net-shape component.

24 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

heat-treating the net-shape or near-net-shape component at a temperature of 400° C. to 480° C. for a time of 0.25 hours to 6 hours.

25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein after heating treating, the net-shape or near-net-shape component is heat-aged at a temperature of 100° C. to 180° C. for a time of 1 hour to 48 hours, to achieve a simultaneous dispersion of fine-scale Zn 2 Mg precipitates, primary precipitates, and Al—X nano-scale precipitates.

26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the primary precipitates have an average diameter ranging from 0.1 to 10 μm.

27 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the Al—X nano-scale precipitates have an average diameter ranging from 1 to 100 nm.

28 . The method of claim 25 , wherein X is Zr.

29 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the primary precipitates are A13Zn primary precipitates.

30 . A method of preparing a welded metallic assembly, the method comprising joining two aluminum alloy components with a filler material in a welding process,

wherein the filler material joining the components is the wire or the rod of claim 16 ; and

wherein the two aluminum alloy components are each independently selected from the group consisting of Al—Zn—Mg alloys, Al—Zn—Mg—Cu alloys, Al—Zn—Mg—Zr alloys, and Al—Zn—Mg—Cu—Zr alloys.

31 . A method of manufacturing a net-shape component, a near-net-shape component, or a component extruded from a billet, the method comprising: subjecting the ribbon, chips, or powder of claim 8 to a powder metallurgy process to manufacture the net-shape component, the near-net-shape component, or the component extruded from a billet.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (175)