Research and development at AMAG

AluReport: Dr. Fragner, this issue of AluReport focuses on aluminium research and development. Is there actually anything left to improve? Haven’t we researched more or less everything possible?

WF: Aluminium is a key material in our modern world. It can be found in cars, airplanes, packaging, buildings, electrical devices and much more besides. At the same time, aluminium is subject to ever-increasing requirements. It needs to be lighter and yet stronger; it should be corrosion-resistant and more easily recyclable; it should contain a higher proportion of scrap metal and be more eco-friendly but also produced more economically. Customers today expect tailored solutions for increasingly specific applications, such as battery boxes for electric cars, or high-strength, damage-tolerant materials for airplanes. Upon closer inspection, even seemingly straightforward products - like packaging materials - are subject to incredibly challenging requirements. We cannot achieve these developments or fulfill our customers’ requests without research. Aluminium research helps us to improve processing methods, develop new alloys, make our production activities more efficient and sustainable, cut our energy consumption and reduce our carbon footprint. In times dominated by climate change, resource scarcity and global competition, aluminium research and development activities are more important than ever.US President John F. Kennedy was well aware of this when he gave his speech on the moon landing. “We choose to go to the moon” is the famous phrase - but he also noted that this would involve “a giant rocket [...] made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented”. [1] This work led to the development of aluminium alloys twice as strong as those developed up that point. Since then, we have increased the strength of aluminium alloys by a further 50%, with AMAG playing a leading role through its proprietary ­CrossAlloy developments.

AluReport: What does AMAG expect to achieve through its focus on cutting-edge research?

WF: A central focus for AMAG is R&D activities on aluminium recycling. Recycling cuts energy consumption by up to 95% compared to primary production. This makes secondary aluminium a key lever when it comes to sustainability.However, recycling also entails new challenges. While precise metering of different elements permits precise control in the production of primary aluminium alloys, the composition of scrap material depends to a large extent on the starting product. This needs to be considered during production. As we strive to ensure the highest quality standards despite these challenges, we operate state-of-the-art scrap sorting systems - with X-ray and laser-based technologies that can identify the most subtle differences in material composition and sort materials accordingly. This expertise serves as the basis upon which to further increase the proportion of scrap in existing alloys while also developing entirely novel alloy concepts. For us, R&D is not an end in itself but a key element of our efforts to create sustainable, high-quality products for the future.

AluReport: How does AMAG decide on its research priorities?

WF: It’s important to distinguish between two tracks. On the one hand, we engage with our customers on a regular basis, so we learn about which megatrends have a tangible impact on their product specifications. We use these insights to identify the R&D work needed for our materials. What requirements will they have to meet in the future? And how can we produce it? If we implement these changes in cooperation with our customers, we’re far more likely to succeed and implement these targeted innovations effectively.On the other hand, there are long-term specialist approaches, which we pursue together with our scientific partners so that we can continue developing exciting products into the future. One long-burning issue, for example, is improving the formability of aluminium sheets and the microstructural changes needed to achieve this. This issue of AluReport features two reports on this topic. An article on the formability of 6xxx automotive sheets casts a spotlight on the contradictory material requirements of folding and deep drawing processes, while the report on our virtual rolling plant describes how we simulate forming steps throughout the entire rolling process.

AluReport: Simulation is a hot topic today. It involves depicting the physical production process in digital form. This AluReport issue contains two more articles on digitalization in a broader sense.

WF: That’s right. We collect and record thousands of sensor datasets for each system every single second so that we can connect them and enhance our simulations with real production data. A simulation is a simplified physical model that cannot take account of every single parameter, and the real-world production process is obviously far more complex. However, by combining simulation, data collection and analysis, we can better understand real-world production processes, implement targeted optimizations and trial new process windows in a risk-free setting. Comparing and supplementing simulation models with real-world data creates a learning system that becomes increasingly precise, thereby laying the foundations for proactive control and consistent quality in efficient production processes. One article focuses on the challenges that arise in matching machine time-coded sensor values to specific positions on a piece of the material as accurately as possible, ensuring maximum traceability. This again provides the basis for precise data analysis, as I mentioned before. [2-5]We apply a variety of methods to achieve this - and, yes, that includes machine learning and artificial intelligence. But, in truth, we use the analysis methods that prove most effective and efficient for our specific purpose. Digitalization and data analysis are more than just technical tools, they enable us to improve material properties and shorten product development cycles.

AluReport: Let’s turn to completely new developments. Are these still possible with aluminium?

WF:

We mustn’t think that incremental improvements and upgrades to existing products are the only way to make progress with aluminium.AMAG’s CrossAlloys® have opened the door to a new category of aluminium alloys with an entirely new mix of properties. Long-term research focused on scientific fundamentals is essential for this and requires our university partners’ assistance. In new fields of application, it’s often necessary to drill down to the atomic level to describe and understand material effects. One example in this issue of AluReport is our Cross­Alloy® materials’ resistance to cosmic radiation in space. In truth, aluminium is not particularly well suited for this due to a variety of properties - but our new material performs exceedingly well. We now need to understand why this is and how we can influence this effect in a targeted manner.

Another report in this issue focuses on cluster hardening in AlMgSi sheets - a specialist field that, to date, has only been explored and understood by a handful of scientists worldwide. Clusters are individual atom groups in aluminium that present an opportunity to achieve both high strength and excellent formability - two properties that are usually diametrically opposed.This calls for precise analysis methods, such as atom probe tomography, which counts the individual atoms in a material. Implementing these insights on an industrial scale is another challenging task.

 

AluReport: While that all sounds fascinating, does basic research actually find its way into large-scale industrial production?

WF: It can take years for a basic principle to find its way from the lab to series production. One method that is thriving is the use of eigenfrequencies to measure Young’s modulus, which is covered in another article in this issue. A decade ago, the Young’s modulus of aluminium was considered a fixed quantity. But this measurement method shows that, in some cases, slight differences can occur depending on the material’s structure. These differences can play a vital role in high-performance, damage-tolerant aviation alloys. And the more we engage with this new measurement method, the more surprises we discover.

 

AluReport: Could you give an example?

WF: I can’t say just now. We still need to examine this more closely. But it appears that this method could be used for more than just measuring the Young’s modulus.

 

AluReport: The economic climate is particularly challenging at the moment. Can you still afford to conduct such elite research in this context?

WF: Reducing R&D expenditure obviously seems like an easy way to cut costs. And, in the short term, it won’t have any negative impacts. Over the medium to long term, however, it will inevitably hurt your ability to compete. Given that our production facility is in a country with high energy and labor costs, it’s important that we offer products with a mix of properties that is difficult to reproduce - and that we do so as efficiently as possible.We also need to understand the material and the production process as precisely as possible. The only way to do this is through effective and targeted research and development. A high-quality research landscape is also essential.Political support is also needed here. A long-term increase in research funding and strengthening of existing, functional structures -  like the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) General Program, the Comet projects and the CD Labs funded by the Christian Doppler Research Association (CDG) - provide stability and predictability.

This is the only way that we can continue to conduct research for the long term and secure Austria as a location for business.