Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials

Ultrathin metal foils are essential for applications requiring miniaturization across modern industry. Nevertheless, it is challenging for conventional rolling mills and conventional rolling methods to reduce the thickness of single-layer foils to a scale approaching just a few micrometers. This dif...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ning Nie, Rui Wang, Guanyu Deng, Hui Wang, Pengfei Wang, Anh Kiet Tieu, Huijun Li, Lihong Su
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Metals
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/11/1262
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850267136781451264
author Ning Nie
Rui Wang
Guanyu Deng
Hui Wang
Pengfei Wang
Anh Kiet Tieu
Huijun Li
Lihong Su
author_facet Ning Nie
Rui Wang
Guanyu Deng
Hui Wang
Pengfei Wang
Anh Kiet Tieu
Huijun Li
Lihong Su
author_sort Ning Nie
collection DOAJ
description Ultrathin metal foils are essential for applications requiring miniaturization across modern industry. Nevertheless, it is challenging for conventional rolling mills and conventional rolling methods to reduce the thickness of single-layer foils to a scale approaching just a few micrometers. This difficulty arises from a range of inherent factors, including the elastic modulus, diameter of the rollers, resistance of rolled materials, and friction coefficient. To address these limitations, an accumulative pack rolling (APR) method has been developed in this work to fabricate ultrathin metal foils. Al foils down to ~2 µm have been successfully fabricated by using Al, Ta, and stainless steel (SS) as pack materials. The effects of the pack sheets on surface morphology, thickness reduction, and microstructural evolution were investigated. Key surface roughening behaviors, including ridging and particle-like surface roughening, were observed on the inner surface, which influences the roughening and thinning behavior of the target Al foils. This study also provides insights into surface roughening mechanisms, including rolling marks, ridging, and particle-like roughening, and demonstrates the critical role of pack sheet materials in controlling plastic instability, achieving uniform thickness reduction in ultrathin foils, and preventing severe deterioration of surface flatness during the APR process.
format Article
id doaj-art-2344dc45047b4bd7beb2045446a80f4b
institution OA Journals
issn 2075-4701
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Metals
spelling doaj-art-2344dc45047b4bd7beb2045446a80f4b2025-08-20T01:53:54ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012024-11-011411126210.3390/met14111262Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack MaterialsNing Nie0Rui Wang1Guanyu Deng2Hui Wang3Pengfei Wang4Anh Kiet Tieu5Huijun Li6Lihong Su7School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaSchool of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaSchool of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Equipment and Technology of Cold Strip Rolling, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, ChinaSchool of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaSchool of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaSchool of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, AustraliaUltrathin metal foils are essential for applications requiring miniaturization across modern industry. Nevertheless, it is challenging for conventional rolling mills and conventional rolling methods to reduce the thickness of single-layer foils to a scale approaching just a few micrometers. This difficulty arises from a range of inherent factors, including the elastic modulus, diameter of the rollers, resistance of rolled materials, and friction coefficient. To address these limitations, an accumulative pack rolling (APR) method has been developed in this work to fabricate ultrathin metal foils. Al foils down to ~2 µm have been successfully fabricated by using Al, Ta, and stainless steel (SS) as pack materials. The effects of the pack sheets on surface morphology, thickness reduction, and microstructural evolution were investigated. Key surface roughening behaviors, including ridging and particle-like surface roughening, were observed on the inner surface, which influences the roughening and thinning behavior of the target Al foils. This study also provides insights into surface roughening mechanisms, including rolling marks, ridging, and particle-like roughening, and demonstrates the critical role of pack sheet materials in controlling plastic instability, achieving uniform thickness reduction in ultrathin foils, and preventing severe deterioration of surface flatness during the APR process.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/11/1262accumulative pack rollingultrathin metal foilsplastic instabilitysurface roughening
spellingShingle Ning Nie
Rui Wang
Guanyu Deng
Hui Wang
Pengfei Wang
Anh Kiet Tieu
Huijun Li
Lihong Su
Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials
Metals
accumulative pack rolling
ultrathin metal foils
plastic instability
surface roughening
title Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials
title_full Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials
title_fullStr Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials
title_full_unstemmed Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials
title_short Fabrication of Ultrathin Al Foils by Accumulative Pack Rolling: Influence of Pack Materials
title_sort fabrication of ultrathin al foils by accumulative pack rolling influence of pack materials
topic accumulative pack rolling
ultrathin metal foils
plastic instability
surface roughening
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/11/1262
work_keys_str_mv AT ningnie fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT ruiwang fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT guanyudeng fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT huiwang fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT pengfeiwang fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT anhkiettieu fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT huijunli fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials
AT lihongsu fabricationofultrathinalfoilsbyaccumulativepackrollinginfluenceofpackmaterials