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In September 1993, the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program, initiated a cooperative research and development (R&D) program between the federal government and the United States Council Automotive Research (USCAR) to develop automotive technologies to reduce the nation's dependence on petroleum and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by improving fuel economy. A key enabler for the attainment of these goals is a significant reduction in vehicle weight. Thus the major focus of the PNGV materials program is the development of materials and technologies that would result in the reduction of vehicle weight by up to 40%. The Automotive Lightweighting Materials (ALM) Program in the Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies (OAAT) of the Department of Energy (DOE), the PNGV Materials Technical Team and the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP) collaborate to conduct research and development on these materials.

The use of tailor welded blanks (TWBs) in automotive applications is increasing due to the potential of weight and cost savings. These blanks are manufactured by joining two or more sheets of dissimilar gauge, properties, or both, to form a lighter blank of desired strength and stiffness. This allows an engineer to “tailor” the properties of the blank to meet the design requirements of a particular panel. TWBs are used in such places as door inner panels, lift gates, and floor pans. Earlier investigations of the use of TWBs targeted steel alloys, but the potential of further weight savings with aluminum TWBs is gaining interest in the automotive industry. Unlike steel TWBs, the welds in aluminum TWBs are not significantly stronger than the base material and are occasionally the fracture site. Additionally, the reduced formability of aluminum, as compared with drawing-quality steels, makes the application of aluminum TWBs more difficult than steel TWBs.

This report presents results of experiments to determine the effect of elevated temperature exposures on the mechanical properties of aluminum alloy materials. The two alloys studied, 5754 and 6111, are of the types which would be used in a stamped automobile structure and exterior panels. Yield strength, tensile strength, and total elongation are reported for a variety of test conditions. The material temperature exposures simulated a broad range of conditions which might be experienced during manufacturing operations such as adhesive curing and vehicle paint bake cycles. In addition, tests were conducted at temperatures to resemble in-service under-hood and under body (near the exhaust system) conditions. Materials were prestrained various amounts prior to temperature exposure to simulate metal forming processes. Results show that both materials react to temperature and aging times differently.