Three-dimensional characteristics of Fe-rich intermetal ics in gravity-cast Al-6Si alloys

Fe-rich intermetallics, especially β-Fe phase, usually forming in the microstructure of cast aluminum alloys, are very detrimental to mechanical properties. In the present work, the effects of Fe content on phase transformation and microstructures were analyzed using a 3D X-ray microscope. Based on the highresolution 3D X-ray computed tomography, the 3D characteristics of Fe-rich intermetallics and micropores in the gravity-cast Al-6 Si alloys with different Fe contents were investigated. In addition, the effect of intermetallics on the microporosity was discussed. The results show that with increasing the Fe content from 0.10 wt.% to 0.60 wt.%, the volume fraction of Fe-rich intermetallics and the volume of the largest size Fe-rich intermetallic increased, and the 3D morphology of intermetallics changed from fine flake to network aggregation. As the Fe contents increased, the shrinkage pores were characterized, which were rather complex due to the micropores promoted by the intermetallics interactions.

Effects of high-pressure rheo-squeeze casting on the Fe-rich phases and mechanical properties of Al-17Si-(1,1.5)Fe alloys

The effects of high pressure rheo-squeeze casting(HPRC) on the Fe-rich phases(FRPs) and mechanical properties of Al-17 Si-(1,1.5)Fe alloys were investigated. The alloy melts were first treated by ultrasonic vibration(UV) and then formed by high-pressure squeeze casting(HPSC). The FRPs in the as-cast HPSC Al-17 Si-1 Fe alloys only contained a long, needle-shaped β-Al5 Fe Si phase at 0 MPa. In addition to the β-Al5 Fe Si phase, the HPSC Al-17 Si-1.5 Fe alloy also contained the plate-shaped δ-Al4 Fe Si2 phase. A fine, block-shaped δ-Al4 Fe Si2 phase was formed in the Al-17 Si-1 Fe alloy treated by UV. The size of FRPs decreased with increasing pressure. After UV treatment, solidification under pressure led to further refinement of the FRPs. Considering alloy samples of the same composition, the ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of the HPRC samples was higher than that of the HPSC samples, and the UTS increased with increasing pressure. The UTS of the Al-17 Si-1 Fe alloy formed by HPSC exceeded that of the Al-17 Si-1.5 Fe alloy formed in the same manner under the same pressure. Conversely, the UTS of the Al-17 Si-1 Fe alloy formed by HPRC decreased to a value lower than that of the Al-17 Si-1.5 Fe alloy formed in the same manner.

Formation process and mechanical properties in selective laser melted multi-principal-element alloys

Additive manufacturing is believed to open up a new era in precise microfabrication,and the dynamic microstructure evolution during the process as well as the experiment-simulation correlated study is conducted on a prototype multi-principal-element alloys FeCrNi fabricated using selective laser melting(SLM).Experimental results reveal that columnar crystals grow across the cladding layers and the dense cellular structures develop in the filled crystal.At the micron scale,all constituent elements are evenly distributed,while at the near-atomic scale,Cr element is obviously segregated.Simulation results at the atomic scale illustrate that i)the solid-liquid interface during the grain growth changes from horizontal to arc due to the radial temperature gradient;ii)the precipitates,microscale voids,and stacking faults also form dynamically as a result of the thermal gradient,leading to the residual stress in the SLMed structure.In addition,we established a microstructure-based physical model based on atomic simulation,which indicates that strong interface strengthening exists in the tensile deformation.The present work provides an atomic-scale understanding of the microstructural evolution in the SLM process through the combination of experiment and simulation.

Influence of high pressure and manganese addition on Fe-rich phases and mechanical properties of hypereutectic Al-Si alloy with rheo-squeeze casting

The influence of high pressure and manganese addition on Fe-rich phases(FRPs)and mechanical properties of Al-14Si-2Fe alloy with rheo-squeeze casting(RSC)was investigated.The semi-solid alloy melt was treated by ultrasonic vibration(UV)firstly,and then formed by squeeze casting(SC).Results show that the FRPs in as-cast SC alloys are composed of coarseβ-Al5(Fe,Mn)Si,δ-Al4(Fe,Mn)Si2 and bone-shapedα-Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2 phases when the pressure is 0 MPa.With RSC process,the FRPs are first refined by UV,and then the solidification under pressure further causes the grains to become smaller.The peritectic transformation occurs during the formation ofαphase.For the alloy with the same composition,the ultimate tensile strength(UTS)of RSC sample is higher than that of the SC sample.With the same forming process,the UTS of Al-14Si-2Fe-0.8Mn alloy is higher than that of Al-14Si-2Fe-0.4Mn alloy.

Electromagnetic Filtration of Primary Fe-Rich Phases from Al-Si Alloy Melt

Electromagnetic filtration of primary Fe-rich phases (complex compound of AlFeSiMn) from Al-Si alloy melt containing 1.2 wt pct Fe have been studied by theoretical analysis and on a self-designed electromagnetic filtration equipment. The principle of the electromagnetic filtration is that the EMF (electromagnetic force) scarcely acts on the primary Fe-rich phases having low electric conductivity, which are then moved in the direction opposite to that of the EMF. Experimental results show that the primary Fe-rich phases are separated from Al-Si alloy melt and are collected in the filter while the melt is in horizontal flow. The removal efficiency of the primary iron-phases (77) calculated is less as the greatest flow velocity of the melt (UM) and the height of the filter (2h) are larger, while it becomes larger as EMF, operating distance of electromagnetic force (cr) and particle size (dv) become larger. It has been confirmed that the primary iron-phases larger than 20 jim can be removed efficiently by theoretical analysis and experiments. This new technique is high efficient and available for continuously flowing melts as compared with natural settling and filtration methods, which offer a possibility for recycling high quality aluminum alloys.

Effect of Ni addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–Mg–Si–Cu–Zn alloys with a high Mg/Si ratio

The effect of adding 0.03wt%Ni on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–Mg–Si–Cu–Zn alloys was systematically studied.The results reveal that the number density of spherical Fe-rich phases within grains increases with the addition of Ni,accompanied by the formation of Q(Al3Mg9Si7Cu2)precipitates around the spherical Fe-rich phases.Additionally,Ni addition is beneficial to reducing the grain size in the as-cast state.During the homogenization process,Q phases could be completely dissolved and the grain size could remain basically unchanged.However,compared with the Ni-free alloy,the Fe-rich phase in the Ni-containing alloy is more likely to undergo the phase transformation and further form more spherical particles during homogenization treatment.After thermomechanical processing,the distribution of Fe-rich phases in the Ni-containing alloy was further greatly improved and directly resulted in a greater formability than that of the Ni-free alloy.Accordingly,a reasonable Ni addition positively affected the microstructure and formability of the alloys.

Influence of Si content and heat treatment on microstructure of Al-Fe-Si alloys

The effect of Si addition and heat treatment on the Al-5wt.%Fe al oy has been investigated by OM, SEM-EDS and XRD. The results show that the Si plays a significant role in refining the primary Al3Fe phase. It was found that the addition of 3.0wt.% Si made the al oy present the finest and wel -distributed primary Al3Fe phase, but the Al3Fe phase almost disappeared when 5wt.% Si was added. With further increase in the Si content, some Fe-rich phases appeared in the inter-grains and coarsened. In addition, the heat treatments exert a significant impact on the microstructural evolution of the Al-5wt.%Fe-5wt.%Si al oy. After heat treatment for 28 hours at 590 oC, the coarse platelet or blocky Fe-rich phase in Al-5wt.%Fe-5wt.%Si al oys was granulated; the phase transformation from metastable platelet Al3FeSi and blocky Al8Fe2Si to stable Al5FeSi had occurred. With the extension of heat treatment, the Si phase coarsened gradual y.

Influence of Fe-rich phases and precipitates on the mechanical behaviour of Al-Cu-Mn-Fe-Sc-Zr alloys studied by synchrotron X-ray and neutron

A multiscale methodology using scanning and transmission electron microscope,synchrotron X-ray nano-tomography and micro-tomography,small angle neutron scattering,and in situ synchrotron X-ray diffrac-tion has been used,to reveal the effect of Fe-rich phases and precipitates on the mechanical behaviour of an Al-Cu-Mn-Fe-Sc-Zr alloy.Theα-Al grains size is reduced from 185.1μm(0 MPa)and 114.3μm(75 MPa)by applied pressure.Moreover,it has been demonstrated that suitable heat treatments modify the 3D morphology of Fe-rich phases from interconnected to a disaggregated structure that improves the mechanical properties of the alloy.The size and morphology evolution of fine precipitates under differ-ent ageing temperature and time are revealed.At ageing temperature of 160℃,the precipitates change from GP zones toθ’(around 75 nm in length)with ageing time increasing from 1 h to 24 h;the Vick-ers hardness increases from 72.0 HV to 110.7HV.The high ductility of the Sc,Zr modified Al-Cu alloy is related to the complex shape and the loss of interconnectivity of the Fe-rich particles due to the heat treatment.The evolution of the crystal lattice strains inα-Al,andβ-Fe calculated during tensile test us-ing in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction corroborates the influence of the microstructure in the ductility of the modified alloy.

Nucleation and growth of Fe-rich phases in Al-5Ti-1B modified Al-Fe alloys investigated using synchrotron X-ray imaging and electron microscopy

Plate-like Fe-rich intermetallic phases directly influence the mechanical properties of recycled Al alloys;thus, many attempts have been made to modify the morphology of these phases. Through synchrotron X-ray imaging and electron microscopy, the underlying nucleation and growth mechanisms of Fe-rich phases during the solidification of Al-5 Ti-1 B-modified Al-2 Fe alloys were revealed in this study. The results showed that the Al-5 Ti-1 B grain refiner as well as the applied pressure both resulted in reduction of the size and number of primary Al_(3)Fe phases and promoted the formation of eutectic Al_(6)Fe phases.The tomography results demonstrated that Al-5 Ti-1 B changed the three-dimensional(3 D) morphology of primary Fe-rich phases from rod-like to branched plate-like, while a reduction in their thickness and size was also observed. This was attributed to the fact that Ti-containing solutes in the melts inhibit the diffusion of Fe atoms and the Al_(3)Fe twins produce re-entrant corner on the twin boundaries along the growth direction. Moreover, the TiB_(2) provides possible nucleation sites for Al_6Fe phases. The nucleation mechanism of Fe-rich phases is discussed in terms of experimental observations and crystallography calculations. The decrease in the lattice mismatch between TiB_(2) and Al_(6)Fe phases was suggested, which promoted the transformation of Al_(3)Fe to Al_(6)Fe phases.

Hypereutectic Al-Si Matrix Composites Prepared by In Situ Fe_(2)O_(3)/Al System

Al_(2)O_(3) particles reinforced hypereutectic Al-Si composites were prepared by in situ Fe_(2)O_(3)/Al reaction system.The thermodynamic analysis and microstructure evolution were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry,optical microscope,scanning electronic microscopy and transmission electron microscope.Results show that the reaction between Fe_(2)O_(3) and Al is spontaneous which can be separated into two steps at different temperatures.The in situ Al_(2)O_(3) particles in nano size distribute on the Al matrix accompanied with long needle-shapedβFe-rich intermetallic phase.With different content of Mn addition,βphase can be modified toα-Al15(Mn,Fe)3Si2 andδ-Al4(Fe,Mn)Si2.Both tensile strength and elongation results at room temperature and 300℃reveal that the optimal Fe-rich intermetallic phase is finer Chinese-script and polyhedralαphase with a Mn/Fe mass ratio 0.5 for the composites.Both in situ Al_(2)O_(3) particles andα-Fe phases contribute to the properties improvement of the composites。

Comparison of contribution of sub-rapid cooling and shear deformation to refinement of Fe-rich phase in hypereutectic Al-Fe alloy during rheo-extrusion

A hypereutectic Al-3Fe(wt.%)alloy was subjected by rheo-extrusion,and the effect of sub-rapid cooling and shear deformation on the refinement of Fe-rich phase was investigated.The results showed that both the primary Fe-rich phase and eutectic Fe-rich phase in the solidified Al-Fe alloy were finer than the platelike Fe-rich phase in the as-cast Al-Fe alloy with the same content of Fe.The solidified Al-Fe alloy was subjected to three stages of shear deformation,and both the primary Fe-rich phase and eutectic Fe-rich phase were fractured and the average length was refined to 400 nm,while Fe-rich phase in the as-cast Al-3Fe(wt.%)alloy was platelike and its average length was 40 pm.The tensile strength and elongation of the hypereutectic Al-3Fe(wt.%)alloy containing nanosized Fe-rich phase were 162 MPa and 25.78%while those of the as-cast AI-3Fe(wt.%)alloy containing coarse platelike Fe-rich phase were 102 MPa and 16.84%,respectively.In the refineme nt of Fe-rich phase in hypereutectic Al-Fe alloy during rheo-extrusion,the three stages of shear deformation contributed more than sub-rapid cooling.

Microstructure and properties evolution of Al-17Si-2Fe alloys with addition of quasicrystal Al-Mn-Ti master alloy

The Fe-rich intermetallic compounds in Al-17Si-2 Fe were modified via Al-Mn-Ti quasicrystal master alloy.The effect of master alloy content on the Fe-rich phase morphology was studied by scanning electron microscope(SEM)and thermodynamic calculation.Results show that the microstructure of the Al-Mn-Ti master alloy consists of binary quasicrystal matrix and ternary AlMnTi secondary phase.The evolutive tendency of Fe-rich intermetallic compounds with content of quasicrystal Al-Mn-Ti master alloy increasing can be described as follows:long needle-shapedβphase for Al-17 Si-2 Fe alloy,long plate-shaped ternaryδphase for 3 wt%master alloy addition,Chinese-script and polyhedralαphases for 4 wt%master alloy addition and finer plate-shaped quaternaryδphase with a phases for 5 wt%master alloy addition.The ultimate tensile strength of the Al-17 Si-2 Fe alloy with4 wt%master alloy addition(a mass ratio of w(Mn)/w(Fe)≈0.7)increases by 23.8%and the friction coefficient decreases from 0.45 to 0.35 compared with those of Mnfree alloy.α-Fe phases have less negative effect on the matrix compared with the long needle-shapedβphase and the plate-shapedδphase.

Morphological Evolution of Fe-Rich Phases in the AlSi_9Cu_3Mg_(0.19)(Fe)Alloy with the Addition of Minor Mn and Cr

The morphological evolution of Fe-rich phases in the Alalloy has been investigated with various contents of Fe,Mn,and Cr.The results show that coarse Chinese script Fe-rich phases appear in the alloy with 0.6 wt%Fe combined with trace Mn,while the blocky Fe-rich phases appear combined with trace Cr.Under the coexistence of trace Mn and Cr,a large number of fine Chinese script Fe-rich phases could be visible in the low iron-bearing AlSi_9Cu_3-alloy（0.60 wt%）.At high Fe level（1.30 wt%）,numerous Fe-rich phases with hexagonal morphologies are observed with the trace Cr,while fish-bone and pentagonal morphologies of Fe-rich phases could be simultaneously observed with the addition of both Mn and Cr.The results reveal that the trace Mn and Cr promote the morphological evolution of Fe-rich phases.The morphology evolution mechanism of Fe-rich phases has been discussed by using the atom radius and electronegativity differences of Fe,Mn,and Cr.