Microstructure evolution,mechanical properties and fracture behavior of Al-xSi/AZ91D bimetallic composites prepared by a compound casting

In this paper,the effect of the Si content on microstructure evolution,mechanical properties,and fracture behavior of the Al-xSi/AZ91D bimetallic composites prepared by compound casting was investigated systematically.The obtained results showed that all the Al-xSi/AZ91D bimetallic composites had a metallurgical reaction layer(MRL),whose thickness increased with increasing Si content for the hypoeutectic Al-Si/AZ91D composites,while the hypereutectic Al-Si/AZ91D composites were opposite.The MRL included eutectic layer(E layer),intermetallic compound layer(IMC layer)and transition region layer(T layer).In the IMC layer,the hypereutectic Al-Si/AZ91D composites contained some Si solid solution and flocculent Mg_(2)Si+Al-Mg IMCs phases not presented in the hypoeutectic Al-Si/AZ91D composites.Besides,increasing Si content,the thickness proportion of the T layer increased,forming an inconsistent preferred orientation of the MRL.The shear strengths of the Al-xSi/AZ91D bimetallic composites enhanced with increasing Si content,and the Al-15Si/AZ91D composite obtained a maximum shear strength of 58.6 MPa,which was 73.4% higher than the Al-6Si/AZ91D composite.The fractures of the Al-xSi/AZ91D bimetallic composites transformed from the T layer into the E layer with the increase of the Si content.The improvement of the shear strength of the Al-xSi/AZ91D bimetallic composites was attributed to the synergistic action of the Mg_(2)Si particle reinforcement,the reduction of oxidizing inclusions and the ratio of Al-Mg IMCs as well as the orientation change of the MRL.

Preparation, interfacial regulation and strengthening of Mg/Al bimetal fabricated by compound casting: A review

Mg/Al bimetal combines the advantages of both aluminum and magnesium and has broad application prospects in automotive, aerospace,weapons, digital products and so on. The compound casting has the characteristics of low cost, easy to achieve metallurgical combination and suitable for the preparation of complex bimetallic parts. However, bimetallic joint strength is low due to differences of physical properties between Al and Mg, oxide film on metallic surface and interfacial Al-Mg IMCs, which is closely related to the interfacial microstructure and properties. Therefore, how to control the interface of the bimetal to achieve performance enhancement is the focus and difficulty in this field. At present, there are mainly the following strengthening methods. First, the “zincate galvanizing” and “electrolytic polishing+anodic oxidation” technology were exert on the surface of Al alloy to remove and break the oxide film, which improved the wettability between Al and Mg. Second, the undesirable Al-Mg IMCs were reduce or elimination by adding the interlayers(Zn, Ni and Ni-Cu). Thirdly, the evolution process of interfacial microstructure was changed and fine strengthening phases were formed by adding Si element to Al alloy or rare earth element to Mg alloy. Fourthly, mechanical vibration and ultrasonic vibration were applied in the process of the filling and solidification to refine and homogenize the interfacial structure. Finally, some other methods, including secondary rolling, thermal modification, heat treatment and constructing exterior 3D morphology, also can be used to regulate the interfacial microstructure and compositions. The above strengthening methods can be used alone or in combination to achieve bimetallic strengthening. Finally, the future development direction of the Mg/Al bimetal is prospected, which provides some new ideas for the development and application of the Mg/Al bimetal.

Investigating on casting mold (or core) making with coated sand by the selected laser sintering

Using a special coated sand as the material of the selected laser sintering (SLS), the authors test and investigate the strength change of the test samples in terms of different sintering parameters (scanning speed, laser power, sintering thickness, and so on). The characteristics of coated sand hardening by laser beam are analyzed. The sintered mold (or core) for given casting is poured with molten metal.

Dry reusing and wet reclaiming of used sodium silicate sand

Based on the characteristics of used sodium silicate sand and the different use requirements for recycled sand, "dry reusing and wet reclaiming of used sodium silicate sand" is considered as the most suitable technique for the used sand. When the recycled sand is used as support sand, the used sand is only reused by dry process including breaking, screening, dust-removal, etc., and it is not necessary that the used sand is reclaimed with strongly rubbing and scraping method, but when the recycled sand is used as facing sand (or single sand), the used sand must be reclaimed by wet method for higher removal rate of the residual binders. The characteristics and the properties of the dry reused sand are compared with the wet reclaimed sand after combining the different use requirements of support sand and facing sand (or single sand), and above the most adaptive scheme has also been validated.

Accuracy analysis of the part made by selected laser sintering

The effects of different factors, including the precision of selected laser sintering (SLS) equipment, sintering temperature, sintered thickness of individual layer and laser scanning route, on the SLS part accuracy have been analyzed and studied. Some measures are suggested in order to improve the part accuracy made by SLS.

Improving mechanical properties of AZ91D magnesium/A356 aluminum bimetal prepared by compound casting via a high velocity oxygen fuel sprayed Ni coating

In this paper,a Ni coating was deposited on the surface of the A356 aluminum alloy by high velocity oxygen fuel spraying to improve the performance of the AZ91D magnesium/A356 aluminum bimetal prepared by a compound casting.The effects of the Ni coating as well as its thickness on microstructure and mechanical properties of the AZ91D/A356 bimetal were systematically researched for the first time.Results demonstrated that the Ni coating and its thickness had a significant effect on the interfacial phase compositions and mechanical properties of the AZ91D/A356 bimetal.The 10μm’s Ni coating cannot prevent the generation of the Al-Mg intermetallic compounds(IMCs)at the interface zone of the AZ91D/A356 bimetal,while the Ni coating with the thickness of 45μm and 190μm can avoid the formation of the Al-Mg IMCs.When the Ni coating was 45μm,the Ni coating disappeared and transformed into Mg-Mg_(2)Ni eutectic structures+Ni_(2)Mg_(3)Al particles at the interface zone.With a thickness of 190μm’s Ni coating,part of the Ni coating remained and the interface layer was composed of the Mg-Mg_(2)Ni eutectic structures+Ni_(2)Mg_(3)Al particles,Mg_(2)Ni layer,Ni solid solution(SS)layer,Al_(3)Ni_(2) layer,Al_(3)Ni layer and sporadic Al_(3)Ni+Al-Al_(3)Ni eutectic structures from AZ91D side to A356 side in sequence.The interface layer consisting of the Mg-Ni and Al-Ni IMCs obtained with the Ni coating had an obvious lower hardness than the Al-Mg IMCs.The shear strength of the AZ91D/A356 bimetal with a Ni coating of 45μm thickness enhanced 41.4%in comparison with that of the bimetal without Ni coating,and the fracture of the bimetal with 45μm’s Ni coating occurred between the Mg matrix and the interface layer with a mixture of brittle fracture and ductile fracture.

Effect of vibration on interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg/Al bimetal prepared by a novel compound casting

In this work,a vibration was applied in the preparation of the Mg/Al bimetal by a novel compound casting in order to improve the mechanical properties of the Mg/Al bimetal,and the effect of the vibration on the interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg/Al bimetal was investigated.The results indicated that the vibration had a significant effect on the interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg/Al bimetal,but it did not change the phase compositions of the interface,which was composed of layerⅠ(Al3Mg2+Mg2Si),layerⅡ(Al_(12)Mg_(17)+Mg_(2)Si)and layerⅢ(Al_(12)Mg_(17)/δ-Mg).Without vibration,the Mg_(2)Si phase with a needle-like morphology mainly aggregated in the layerⅡof the interface.After the application of the vibration,the SEM and EBSD analysis results showed that the Mg_(2)Si and Al3Mg2phases in the interface were obviously refined,and the distribution of the Mg_(2)Si became more uniform,due to the strong forced convection of the molten metal resulting from the vibration.The TEM analysis indicated that the interface between the A_(l3)Mg_(2) and Mg_(2)Si phases was non-coherent,suggesting the Mg_(2)Si particles cannot act as a heterogeneous nucleation base during the solidification process of the interface.Compared to the Mg/Al bimetal without vibration,the shear strength of the Mg/Al bimetal with vibration increased by about 50%from 31.7 MPa on average to 47.5 MPa,and the hardness of the layer I of the interface increased,and the hardness of the layerⅢdecreased.The fracture surface transformed from a flat fracture morphology without vibration to an irregular zigzag fracture morphology.

Rapid precision casting for complex thin-walled aluminum alloy parts

Based on Vacuum Differential Pressure Casting (VDPC) precision forming technology and the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology, a rapid manufacturing method called Rapid Precision Casting (RPC) process from computer three-dimensional solid models to metallic parts was investigated. The experimental results showed that the main advantage of RPC was not only its ability to cast higher internal quality and more accurate complex thin-walled aluminum alloy parts, but also the greatly-reduced lead time cycle from Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) plastic prototyping to metallic parts. The key forming technology of RPC for complex thin-walled metallic parts has been developed for new casting production and Rapid Tooling (RT), and it is possible to rapidly manufacture high-quality and accurate metallic parts by means of RP in foundry industry.

Enhanced mechanical properties of 6082 aluminum alloy via SiC addition combined with squeeze casting

In order to improve mechanical properties of 6082 aluminum alloy,the SiC_(p)/Al 6082 composites were prepared by the addition of the micron-sized SiC_(p)articles combined with the squeeze casting.The effects of the SiC_(p)content and squeeze casting on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the 6082 aluminum alloy were investigated by SEM,EDS,TEM,tensile testing and hardness testing analysis methods.Research results exhibited that the SiC_(p)content and squeeze casting had a significant impact on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the 6082 aluminum alloy.The addition of the SiC_(p)refined the grain size of the 6082 aluminum alloy while caused the increase of the porosity with increasing the SiC_(p)content,especially in the permanent mold casting condition.Compared to the permanent mold casting,the squeeze casting obviously reduced pore defects,refined grain size and made the SiC_(p)distribute evenly as well as bond tightly with the Al matrix.The tensile strength,yield strength,elongation,elastic modulus and hardness of the 6082 aluminum alloy obtained with the SiC_(p)and squeeze casting were remarkably improved,and the optimal mechanical properties were obtained with a 2 wt.%SiC_(p),and they increased 10.73%,72.7%,193.9%,23.5%and 25.2%,respectively,compared to those of the6082 aluminum alloy obtained without SiC_(p)and squeeze casting.The fracture surface of the SiC_(p)/Al 6082 composites obtained with the squeeze casting was dense and exhibited a ductile fracture mode.

Novel technologies for the lost foam casting process

Lost foam casting （LFC） is a green precision casting process categorized as a near net forming technology. Yet, despite its popularity, it still suffers from some technological problems, such as poor filling ability of the castings, coarse and non-dense microstructure, low mechanical properties for the A1 and Mg LFC processes, and defective carburization for the low carbon steel LFC process. These drawbacks restrict the development and widespread application of the LFC process. To solve these problems, the present study developed several novel LFC technologies, namely, LFC technologies under vacuum and low pressure, vibration solidification, and pressure solidification conditions; expendable shell casting techno- logy; and preparation technology of bimetallic castings based on the LFC process. The results showed that the LFC under vacuum and low pressure evidently improved the filling ability and solved the oxidization problem of the alloys, which is suitable for producing complex and thin- wall castings. The vibration and pressure solidifications increased the compactness of the castings and refined the microstructure, significantly improving the mechanical properties of the castings. The expendable shell casting technology could solve the pore, carburization, and inclusion defects of the traditional LFC method, obtaining castings with acceptable surface quality. Moreover, the A1/Mg and A1/A1 bimetallic castings with acceptable metallurgical bonding were successfully fabricated using the LFC process. These proposed novel LFC technologies can solve the current technological issues and promote the technological progress of the LFC process.

Effect of La on microstructure,mechanical properties and fracture behavior of Al/Mg bimetallic interface manufactured by compound casting

To improve the Al/Mg bimetallic interface,La was added into the Al/Mg bimetallic interface manufactured by a compound casting process.The effect of La addition on the microstructure,mechanical properties and fracture behavior of the Al/Mg bimetallic interface and the formation mechanism of the interface were studied in detail.Al_(11)La_(3),Al_(8)Mn_(4)La,Al_(20)Ti_(2)La,and other rare earth precipitates(RE precipitates)preferentially precipitated at the interface with La addition,while the number of the Al_(11)La_(3)and Al_(8)Mn_(4)La located in eutectic structure area(E area)gradually increased and aggregated in the interface with the increase of the La content.Besides,the matrix structure in different areas of the Al/Mg interface changed in different degrees,and the eutectic structure and primaryγ(Mg_(17)Al_(12))dendrites in the E area were refned,but the intermetallic compounds area(IMC area)had no obvious change.With the addition of the La,the interface was strengthened under the comprehensive effect of refnement strengthening and precipitation strengthening from the E area.When the La content increased to 1.0%,the shear strength of the Al/Mg bimetal reached the maximum of 51.54 MPa,which was 30.95%higher than the group without La addition.However,with the further increase of the La content,the large area aggregation of the Al_(11)La_(3)and Al_(8)Mn_(4)La occurred in the interface,leading to the separation of the matrix structure of the E area and the decrease of the shear strength of the Al/Mg interface.