Aluminium alloy for an anti-friction element

Details Aluminium alloy for an anti-friction element Aluminium alloy for an anti-friction element

2002-11-07

2004-08-31

McNeil, Jennifer (Department: 1775)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

All metal or with adjacent metals

Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal...

C428S652000, C384S912000, C420S532000, C420S531000, C420S535000, C420S536000, C420S537000, C420S533000, C420S541000, C420S544000, C420S547000, C420S548000, C420S551000, C420S553000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06783869

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to
an aluminium alloy for an anti-friction element, containing respectively, as a % by weight, 4.2% to 4.8% Zn, 3.0% to 7.0% Si, 0.8% to 1.2% Cu, 0.7% to 1.3% Pb, 0.12% to 0.18% Mg, 0% to 0.3% Mn and 0% to 0.2% Ni,
an anti-friction element made from an aluminium alloy,
a composite material for an anti-friction element comprising a base layer, in particular made from steel, and a second layer made from an aluminium alloy disposed thereon,
a method of producing an aluminium alloy for an anti-friction element in which respectively, in terms of weight, 4.2% to 4.8% Zn, 3.0% to 7.0% Si, 0.8% to 1.2% Cu, 0.7% to 1.3% Pb, 0.12% to 0.18% Mg, 0% to 0.3% Mn and 0% to 0.2% Ni are admixed with Al and the usual incidental impurities depending on the melt,
as well as the use of the aluminium alloy for producing a thrust ring, an anti-friction layer of a plain bearing and a binding layer of a plain bearing.
2. The Prior Art
The technical progress made in the engine construction industry has meant that increasingly tough requirements are being placed on anti-friction elements, such as plain bearings for example. Single-layer bearings are no longer capable of meeting these requirements, for example in terms of withstanding wear caused by fretting as the film of oil becomes thinner at high speeds, and the anti-friction bearing industry is increasingly tending to look towards what are referred to as multi-layer bearings as a result. Multi-layer anti-friction elements of this type usually consist of a steel base layer, onto which one or more other layers are applied by rolling, plating, etc. These other layers include on the one hand the bearing metal layer, which might optionally have an intermediate layer of a so-called binding layer fixed to the steel supporting layer.
A plain bearing of this type is known from patent specification DE40 15 593 A1, for example. The bearing metal disclosed here has an aluminium base and, in its simplest form, consists of 1 to 10% by weight of zinc, 1 to 15% by weight of silicon, 0.1% to 5% by weight of copper, 0.1 to 5% by weight of lead, 0.005 to 0.5% by weight of strontium, the rest being aluminium and the usual incidental impurities depending on the melt. It may also contain specific proportions of nickel, magnesium, manganese, vanadium and chromium.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The underlying objective of the invention is to improve the mechanical properties of an alloy with an aluminium base and an anti-friction element so that they meet the requirements of the most modern high-performance engines.
This objective is achieved, independently, by the aluminium alloy proposed by the invention additionally containing respectively, as a % by weight, 0.05% to 0.1% Zr, 0% to 0.05% Ti, 0% to 0.4% Fe, 0% to 0.2% Sn, the rest being Al and the usual incidental impurities depending on the melt, and due to the fact that the Al alloy of the anti-friction element or composite material is made from the alloy proposed by the invention, as well as the fact that between 0.05% and 0.1% Zr, 0% to 0.05% Ti, 0% to 0.4% Fe and 0% to 0.2% Sn respectively, as a % by weight, are added and the mixture is melted. The advantage of adding zirconium is that the tensile yield strength and elongation are improved, which in turn enables the processability of this aluminium alloy to be improved. Moreover, it has surprisingly been found that by using zirconium, the proportions of the other elements of the alloy can be reduced, making the production process more economical. The lower silicon content improves both the ductility and the notch effect, whilst reducing the tendency to micro-shrinkage, thereby enabling the reject rate during production of anti-friction elements made from this aluminium alloy to be reduced. Forming adsorptive bonds with aluminium also causes inter-metallic phases to be formed between aluminium and zirconium as the aluminium alloy melt hardens, these inter-metallic phases having a grain-refining effect on the pattern and hence contributing to the tribological properties of the alloy. The separation of inter-metallic phases between zirconium and aluminium, in particular AlZr
3
, produces a more solid bond across these inter-metallic hard phases within the matrix.
In other embodiments of the composite material, the second layer is provided as an anti-friction layer and/or binding layer of a plain bearing and/or an anti-friction layer is provided on the binding layer and is selected from a group consisting of bearing metals with an aluminium base, bearing metals with a copper base, bearing metals with a tin base, bearing alloys with a lead base, a lubricating varnish, a polymer layer, the advantages of which may be found in the detailed description given below.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5075177 (1991-12-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 6506503 (2003-01-01), Mergen et al.
patent: 40 15 593 (1990-12-01), None
patent: 406182582 (1994-07-01), None

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