1. A hybrid structure comprising:
a backbone member comprising a first material composition and at least one closed portion along the backbone, wherein a first cross-section at a first location along a closed portion is different than a second cross-section at a second location along the backbone; and
a secondary member comprising a second material composition different than the first material composition and which extends about at least a portion of an external surface of the backbone member.
2. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the first and second cross-section vary in shape.
3. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the area defined by the first and second cross-sections are different.
4. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the height of the backbone member varies along the width of the backbone member.
5. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the secondary member envelopes a portion of the external surface of the backbone.
6. The hybrid structure of claim 1 wherein:
the backbone member comprises an opening formed therein; and
the secondary member disposed along the external surface of the backbone member extends through the opening and comprises and edge which extends beyond an edge of the opening of the backbone member to interlock the secondary member to the backbone member.
7. The hybrid structure of claim 6, wherein the edge of the opening of the backbone member is curved.
8. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein a length of the backbone member extends along at least two axes.
9. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the backbone member has at least two openings and a portion of the at least two openings are opposite one another.
10. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the secondary member comprises a connection portion to allow for attachment of another component to the hybrid structure.
11. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the backbone has a first opening and a second opening, and the secondary member extends through and between the first and second openings thereby creating at least one of an inner band which extends along an internal surface of the backbone member and an outer band which extends along the external surface of the backbone member to provide reinforcement of the secondary member to the backbone member.
12. The hybrid structure of claim 11, wherein the length of the backbone member extends along at least two axes such that the portion of the secondary member which extends between the first and second openings extends along at least two axes.
13. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein:
the secondary member comprises polymer; and
the backbone member comprises materials selected from the group of: metal, ceramics, polymer, and mixtures thereof.
14. The hybrid structure of claim 13, wherein the backbone member comprises metal.
15. The hybrid structure of claim 1, wherein the backbone member comprises a first profile member and a second profile member which are joined.
16. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein the first profile member comprises a first opening and the second profile member comprises a second opening.
17. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first profile member and the second profile member comprises at least two openings.
18. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein the first profile member and the second profile member each have a maximum depth which are unequal.
19. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein:
the first profile member has a maximum depth and the second profile member has a maximum depth, and the maximum depth of the first profile member is at least as great as the maximum depth of the second profile member; and
the first profile member has a wall thickness at the maximum depth of the first profile member which is at least as great as a wall thickness of the second profile member at the maximum depth of the second profile member.
20. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein:
the secondary member comprises polymer; and
the backbone member comprises materials selected from the group of: metal, ceramics, polymer, and mixtures thereof.
21. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein the first profile member and the second profile member each have a peripheral flange, and wherein the first and second profile members are joined along the peripheral flanges.
22. The hybrid structure of claim 21, wherein the first profile member and the second profile member are joined by welds comprising at least one of metal and polymer.
23. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein the backbone structure is joined along a plane, wherein the wall thickness of the backbone member at a first distance from the plane is at least as great as the wall thickness of the backbone at a second distance from the plane, the first distance being greater than the second distance.
24. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein the first profile member of the backbone structure has an average wall thickness and the second profile member of the backbone structure has an average wall thickness, and the average thickness of the first profile member is different than the average thickness of the second profile member.
25. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein the first profile member has a greater mass than the second profile member.
26. The hybrid structure of claim 15, wherein:
the first profile member and the second profile member of the backbone member comprises a first opening and a second opening formed therein, respectively; and
the secondary member disposed along the external surface of the backbone member extends through the first opening of the backbone member and comprises an edge which extends beyond the opening along an internal surface of the backbone member to lock the secondary member to the backbone member.
27. The hybrid structure of claim 26, wherein:
the first profile member comprises a third opening; and
the secondary member extends between the first and the third openings along at least one of an internal surface to form an inner band and an external surface of the backbone member to form an outer band.
28. A process for making a hybrid structure, the process comprising the steps of:
forming a first profile member and a second profile member;
joining the first profile member to the second profile member to form a backbone member; and
molding polymer about at least a portion of the backbone member to produce a secondary member which is interlocked with the backbone member.
29. The process of claim 28, wherein the first profile member and the second profile member are formed from a first sheet material and a second sheet material, wherein the first sheet material has a different thickness than the second sheet material.
30. The process of claim 28, the process further comprising:
forming an opening in at least one of the first profile member and the second profile member prior to molding polymer; and
wherein molding polymer comprises forcing polymer into the opening of the backbone member to create a secondary member that extends along an inside surface and an outside surface of the backbone member.
31. The process of claim 28, further comprising:
forming at least two openings in the backbone member; and
placing a core in a first of the at least two openings of the backbone member; and
forcing polymer into a second of the at least two openings of the backbone member while at least a portion of the backbone member is disposed in a die.
32. The process of claim 31, wherein a portion of the at least two openings are opposite one another.
33. The process of claim 28, the process further comprising:
forming at least three openings in the backbone member; and
placing a core in a first of the at least three openings of the backbone member; and
forcing polymer into a second and a third openings of the at least three openings of the backbone member, wherein the polymer forms a secondary member comprising an inner band and an outer band which extend from the second to the third openings of the backbone member.
34. The process of claim 28, wherein the backbone member is a material composition comprising a metal or a polymer which is different than the polymer of the secondary member.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An aluminum alloy clad sheet that is used to form a refrigerant passage of a heat exchanger, the aluminum alloy clad sheet comprising a core material, a cladding material 1, and a cladding material 2, one side and the other side of the core material being respectively clad with the cladding material 1 and the cladding material 2, the core material comprising 0.5 to 1.2% (mass %, hereinafter the same) of Si, 0.2 to 1.0% of Cu, and 1.0 to 1.8% of Mn, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, the cladding material 1 comprising 3 to 6% of Si, 2 to 8% of Zn, and at least one of 0.3 to 1.8% of Mn and 0.05 to 0.3% of Ti, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, and the cladding material 2 comprising 6 to 13% of Si, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, the cladding material 1 being positioned opposite to the refrigerant passage during use.
2. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the core material further comprises at least one of 0.3% or less of Cr and 0.3% or less of Zr.
3. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the core material further comprises 0.5% or less of Mg.
4. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
5. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 2, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
6. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises at least one of 0.3% or less of Cr and 0.3% or less of Zr.
7. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises at least one of 0.001 to 0.1% of In and 0.001 to 0.1% of Sn.
8. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cladding material 1 has an Ni content of less than 0.05%.
9. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cladding material 2 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
10. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 2, wherein the cladding material 2 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
11. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 4, wherein the cladding material 2 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
12. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 5, wherein the cladding material 2 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
13. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, wherein the cladding material 2 further comprises 0.1 to 0.5% of Cu.
14. A method of producing the aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 1, the method comprising: homogenizing an ingot of an aluminum alloy that forms the core material at 550 to 620\xb0 C. for 2 to 20 hours; cladding the ingot with an aluminum alloy that forms the cladding material 1 and an aluminum alloy that forms the cladding material 2; hot-rolling the resulting product; cold-rolling the hot-rolled product, the hot-rolled product being heated at 300 to 400\xb0 C. for 2 to 5 hours during the cold-rolling so that the core material has a recrystallized structure; cold-rolling the resulting product to a final thickness at a rolling reduction rate of 10 to 40%; and subjecting the resulting product to a recovery treatment by heating the product at 200 to 450\xb0 C. for 2 to 5 hours.
15. An aluminum alloy clad sheet that is used to form a refrigerant passage of a heat exchanger, the aluminum alloy clad sheet comprising a core material and a cladding material 1, one side of the core material being clad with the cladding material 1, the core material comprising 0.5 to 1.2% of Si, 0.2 to 1.0% of Cu, and 1.0 to 1.8% of Mn, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, and the cladding material 1 comprising 3 to 6% of Si, 2 to 8% of Zn, and at least one of 0.3 to 1.8% of Mn and 0.05 to 0.3% of Ti, with the balance being Al and unavoidable impurities, the cladding material 1 being positioned opposite to the refrigerant passage during use.
16. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, wherein the core material further comprises at least one of 0.3% or less of Cr and 0.3% or less of Zr.
17. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, wherein the core material further comprises 0.5% or less of Mg.
18. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
19. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 16, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises 0.005 to 0.05% of Sr.
20. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises at least one of 0.3% or less of Cr and 0.3% or less of Zr.
21. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, wherein the cladding material 1 further comprises at least one of 0.001 to 0.1% of In and 0.001 to 0.1% of Sn.
22. The aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, wherein the cladding material 1 has an Ni content of less than 0.05%.
23. A method of producing the aluminum alloy clad sheet according to claim 15, the method comprising: homogenizing an ingot of an aluminum alloy that forms the core material at 550 to 620\xb0 C. for 2 to 20 hours; cladding the ingot with an aluminum alloy that forms the cladding material 1; hot-rolling the resulting product; cold-rolling the hot-rolled product, the hot-rolled product being heated at 300 to 400\xb0 C. for 2 to 5 hours during the cold-rolling so that the core material has a recrystallized structure; cold-rolling the resulting product to a final thickness at a rolling reduction rate of 10 to 40%; and subjecting the resulting product to a recovery treatment by heating the product at 200 to 450\xb0 C. for 2 to 5 hours.