National University of Science and Technology, Russia, has developed a technology for producing a unique heat-resistant aluminium alloy with improved durability in cooperation with their colleagues from the Siberian Federal University and the Research and Production Centre of Magnetic Hydrodynamics (Krasnoyarsk).<\/p>\n
According to the researchers, this new alloy could replace more expensive and heavier copper conductors in aircraft and high-speed rail transport. An aluminium alloy is initially cast as a long billet, about 10 mm in diameter, in an electromagnetic crystalliser. The alloys structure is thermally stable up to and including 4000\u00b0C and is considerably superior to known aluminium alloys.<\/p>\n
The researchers have conducted direct deformation of a long billet – rolling and drawing – without using the traditional operations of homogenization and hardening for aluminium alloys. The key feature of their proposed technology lies in the casting and annealing regimes which produce a structure of thermally stable nanoparticles containing copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zirconium (Zr).<\/p>\n
Heat-resistant, high-strength conductivity conductors could find use in aircraft and high-speed rail transport instead of the significantly more expensive and heavier copper ones. According to the authors, the unique and cheap technology could interest producers of wrought aluminium alloy semi-finished products.<\/p>\n