Delaying Recovery in Al-Fe-Si-Mn-Mg Impact Extrusion Alloys Using Zirconium

Abstract

A method of delaying the process of recovery of metals, a method to make an aluminum alloy comprising zirconium, and an apparatus comprising an aluminum alloy and zirconium are provided. In some embodiments, the aluminum alloy of can be formed from recycled aluminum alloys.

1 . A method to form an aluminum-zirconium alloy, comprising:
 providing a scrap metal comprised of at least one of a 3104, a 3004, a 3003, a 3103, 3013 and a 3105 aluminum alloy;   blending said at least one of said 3104, said 3004, said 3003, said 3013, said 3103, and said 3105 aluminum alloy with greater than 40 wt. % of a 1000 series aluminum alloy, and a zirconium containing material to form a recycled aluminum alloy melt;   casting said recycled aluminum alloy melt to form a slab;   hot rolling the slab to reduce a thickness of the slab and produce a hot milled slab; and   cold rolling the hot milled slab to reduce a thickness of the hot milled slab to produce a milled strip comprising the aluminum-zirconium alloy.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 punching the milled slab to create a slug from the milled slab;   deforming said slug comprised of said recycled aluminum alloy into a preferred shape in an impact extrusion process to form a shaped container adapted to receive an end closure.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising blending titanium boride with the recycled aluminum alloy melt. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the slab is between about 20 mm and about 35 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the hot milled slab is between about 6 mm and about 10 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the milled strip is between about 3 mm and about 10 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the zirconium containing material is selected from the group consisting of a Zr, a Zr—Al, a Al—Zr, a zirconium salt, K 2 ZrF 6 , CaF 2 /LiCl/K 2 ZrF 6 , and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . An aluminum alloy used in a slug for an impact extrusion process to form a metallic container, which is configured to receive an end closure, the aluminum alloy comprising:
 at least about 97 wt. % Al;   at least about 0.10 wt. % Si;   at least about 0.25 wt. % Fe;   at least about 0.07 wt. % Mn;   at least about 0.05 wt. % Mg;   at least about 0.1 wt. % Zr;   at most about 0.15 wt. % impurities; and   a balance comprising at least one of Cu, Zn, Cr, and Ti.   
     
     
         9 . The aluminum alloy of  claim 8 , wherein the aluminum alloy further comprises:
 no greater than about 99.31 wt. % Al;   no greater than about 0.4 wt. % Si;   no greater than about 0.5 wt. % Fe;   no greater than about 0.2 wt. % Cu;   no greater than about 0.65 wt. % Mn;   no greater than about 0.75 wt. % Mg; and   no greater than about 0.15 wt. % Zr.   
     
     
         10 . A metallic container, comprising:
 a body of the container with a diameter between about 0.86 inches and about 3 inches, a height between about 2.3 inches and about 8.5 inches, and a thickness of a wall between about 0.003 inches and about 0.16 inches;   wherein a material of the container comprises:
 at least about 97 wt. % Al; 
 at least about 0.10 wt. % Si; 
 at least about 0.25 wt. % Fe; 
 at least about 0.07 wt. % Mn; 
 at least about 0.05 wt. % Mg; 
 at least about 0.1 wt. % Zr; 
 at most about 0.15 wt. % impurities; and 
 a balance comprising at least one of Cu, Zn, Cr, and Ti; and 
   a coating, wherein the coating is applied to at least one surface of the body of the container, and wherein a burst pressure of the container is between about 25.4 and 26.6 bars after thermal curing the coating.   
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 10 , further comprising an end closure. 
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 10 , wherein the material of the container comprises:
 between about 0.07-0.2 wt. % of Si;   between about 022-0.38 wt. % of Fe;   between about 0-0.13 wt. % Cu;   between about 0.11-0.61 wt. % of Mn;   between about 0.13-0.73 wt. % of Mg;   between about 0.1-0.15 wt. % Zr;   between about 0.02-0.07 wt. % of Zn;   between about 0-0.03 wt. % of Ti;   between about 0-0.15 wt. % of impurities; and   the balance of Al.   
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 10 , wherein the burst pressure of the aluminum-zirconium alloy is greater than about 7% of a burst pressure of an aluminum alloy without zirconium.