Method of casting lithium containing aluminium alloys

摘要

Method of casting aluminum alloy ingot including lithium, including: preparing at least two molten aluminum based alloys in separate furnaces, first alloy with composition A free from lithium as purposive alloying element, and second alloy with composition B including lithium as purposive alloying element; transferring the first alloy via metal conveying trough from the furnace to a casting station; initiating casting an ingot and casting the first alloy to required length L1 in the casting direction; subsequently transferring the second alloy via metal conveying trough from the furnace to the casting station while simultaneously stopping transfer of the first alloy to the casting station; casting the second alloy from an end surface of the cast first alloy at length L1 to an additional required length L2 in the casting direction; cropping the cast ingot at a bottom thereof at a length greater than of equal to cast length L1.

主权项

1. A method of casting an ingot of an aluminium alloy comprising lithium, the ingot having a length L, width W, and thickness T, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) preparing at least two molten aluminium based alloys in separate furnaces, a first alloy with a composition A which is free from lithium as purposive alloying element, and a second alloy with a composition B which comprises lithium as purposive alloying element; (b) transferring the first alloy via a metal conveying trough from a first of said furnaces to a casting station; (c) initiating the start of casting an ingot and casting the first alloy to a required length L1 of an ingot in the casting direction; (d) subsequently transferring the second alloy via a metal conveying trough from a second of said furnaces to the casting station while simultaneously stopping the transfer of the first alloy to said casting station; (e) casting the second alloy from an end surface of the cast first alloy at length L1 to an additional required length L2 in the casting direction; (f) cropping the cast ingot at a bottom thereof at a length that is greater than or equal to the cast length L1.