Effect of slow shot speed on externally solidified crystal,porosity and tensile property in a newly developed high-pressure die-cast Al-Si alloy

The effect of slow shot speed on externally solidified crystal(ESC),porosity and tensile property in a newly developed high-pressure die-cast Al-Si alloy was investigated by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and laboratory computed tomography(CT).Results showed that the newly developed AlSi9MnMoV alloy exhibited improved mechanical properties when compared to the AlSi10MnMg alloy.The AlSi9MnMoV alloy,which was designed with trace multicomponent additions,displays a notable grain refining effect in comparison to the AlSi10MnMg alloy.Refining elements Ti,Zr,V,Nb,B promote heterogeneous nucleation and reduce the grain size of primaryα-Al.At a lower slow shot speed,the large ESCs are easier to form and gather,developing into the dendrite net and net-shrinkage.With an increase in slow shot speed,the size and number of ESCs and porosities significantly reduce.In addition,the distribution of ESCs is more dispersed and the net-shrinkage disappears.The tensile property is greatly improved by adopting a higher slow shot speed.The ultimate tensile strength is enhanced from 260.31 MPa to 290.31 MPa(increased by 11.52%),and the elongation is enhanced from 3.72%to 6.34%(increased by 70.52%).

Effect of mixing temperature on microstructure of an Al-Si alloy prepared by controlled diffusion solidification

The effects of mixing temperature,i.e.,the temperatures of two precursor melts(pure Al and Al-12Si),on the temperature and solute fields of resultant mixture,the nucleation and growth,and the size and morphology of primary grains during controlled diffusion solidification(CDS) of Al-8Si alloy were investigated by using simulation and calculation.The results indicate that a lower mixing temperature is helpful for achieving more supercooled microscale Al-rich pockets in the mixture,and increasing the width and supercooling degree of supercooling zone in the Al-rich pockets,and thus,the nucleation rate.The nuclei grow up in nondendritic mode,resulting in spheroidal,at least,nondendritic grains.In a successful CDS,the superheat degrees of the two precursor melts should be limited within several degrees,and it is not necessary to extra stipulate the superheat degree of target alloy melt(Al-8Si) when the requirement about Gibbs energies of the three melts is matched.Subsequent observation on casting microstructures shows that the employed simulation and calculation processes are reasonable and the achieved results are reliable.

Effects of magnesium and copper additions on tensile properties of Al-Si-Cr die casting alloy under as-cast and T5 conditions

Aluminum high pressure die casting(HPDC)technology has evolved in the past decades,enabling stronger and larger one-piece casting with significant part consolidation.It also offers a higher design freedom for more mass-efficient thin-walled body structures.For body structures that require excellent ductility and fracture toughness to be joined with steel sheet via self-piercing riveting(for instance,shock towers and hinge pillars,etc.),a costly T7 heat treatment comprising a solution heat treatment at elevated temperatures(450℃-500℃)followed by an over-ageing heat treatment is needed to optimize microstructure for meeting product requirement.To enable cost-efficient mass production of HPDC body structures,it is important to eliminate the expensive T7 heat treatment without sacrificing mechanical properties.Optimizing die cast alloy chemistry is a potential solution to improve fracture toughness and ductility of the HPDC components.The present study intends to tailor the Mg and Cu additions for a new Al-Si-Cr type die casting alloy(registered as A379 with The Aluminum Association,USA)to achieve the desired tensile properties without using T7 heat treatment.It was found that Cu addition should be avoided,as it is not effective in enhancing strength while degrades tensile ductility.Mg addition is very effective in improving strength and has minor impact on tensile ductility.The investigated Al-Si-Cr alloy with a nominal composition of Al-8.5wt.%Si-0.3wt.%Cr-0.2wt.%Fe shows comparable tensile properties with the T7 treated AlSi10MnMg alloy which is currently used for manufacturing shock towers and hinge pillars.

Growth mechanism of primary silicon in cast hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys

The microstructural features of hypoeutectic AI-10%Si alloy were observed using optical microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The results show that primary silicon particles are frequently found in hypoeutectic alloys. Hence, the nucleation and growth mechanisms of the precipitation of primary silicon of hypoeutectic Al-10%Si alloy melts were investigated. It was discovered that Si atoms are easy to segregate and form Si-Si clusters, which results in the formation of primary silicon even in eutectic or hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys. In addition, solute redistribution caused by chemical driving force and large pile-ups or micro-segregation of the solute play an important role in the formation of the primary silicon, and the solute redistribution equations were derived from Jackson-Chalmers equations. Once Si solute concentration exceeds eutectic composition, primary silicon precipitates are formed at the front of solid/liquid interface.

Effect of ultrasonic vibration on Fe-containing intermetallic compounds of hypereutectic Al-Si alloys with high Fe content

The Fe-containing intermetallic compounds with high melting point in hypereutectic Al-Si alloys can improve the heat resistance and wear resistance at elevated temperatures. However, the long needle-like Fe-containing compounds in the alloys produced by conventional casting process are detrimental to the strength of matrix. The effect of ultrasonic vibration （USV） on the morphology change of Fe-containing intermetallic compounds in the hypereutectic Al-17Si-xFe （x=2, 3, 4, 5） alloys was systematically studied. The results show that, the Fe-containing intermetallic compounds are mainly composed of long needle-like β-Al5FeSi phase with a small amount of plate-like δ-Al4FeSi2 phase in Al-17Si-2Fe alloy produced by conventional casting process. With the increase of Fe content from 2% to 5% in the alloys, the amount of plate-like or coarse needle-like δ-Al4FeSi2 phase increases while the amount of long needle-like β-Al5FeSi phases decreases. In Al-17Si-5Fe alloy, the Fe-containing intermetallic compounds exist mainly as coarse needle-like δ-Al4FeSi2 phase. After USV treatment, the Fe-containing compounds in the Al-17Si-xFe alloys are refined and exist mainly as δ-Al4FeSi2 particles, with average grain size ranging from 26 μm to 37 μm, and only a small amount of β-Al5FeSi phases remain. The mechanism of USV on the morphology of Fe-containing intermetallic compounds was also discussed.

Nucleation and growth of eutectic cell in hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy

The nucleation and growth of eutectic cell in hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy was investigated using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with electron backscattering diffraction（EBSD）.By revealing the eutectic cells and analyzing the crystallographic orientation,it was found that both the eutectic Si and Al phases in an eutectic cell were not single crystal,representing an eutectic cell consisting of small ＇grains＇.It is also suggested that the eutectic nucleation mode can not be determined based on the crystallographic orientation between eutectic Al phases and the neighboring primary dendrite Al phases.However,the evolution of primary dendrite Al phases affects remarkably the following nucleation and growth of eutectic cell.The coarse flake-fine fibrous transition of eutectic Si morphology involved in impurity elements modification may be independent of eutectic nucleation.

Grain refining mechanism of Al-3B master alloy on hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys

Al-3B master alloy is a kind of efficient grain refiner for hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of undissolved AlB2 particles in Al-3B master alloy on the grain refinement of Al-7Si. It is found that the number and the settlement of AlB2 particles in the melt all have effect on the grain refining efficiency. On the basis of experiments and theoretical analysis, a new grain refinement mechanism was proposed to explain the grain refinement action of Al-3B on hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys. The formation of ＇Al-AlB2＇ shell structure is the direct reason for grain refinement and the undissolved AlB2 particles is the indirect nucleating base for subsequent α（Al） phase.

Microstructure evolution of spray-formed hypereutectic Al-Si alloys in semisolid reheating process

The Al-27%Si alloy was prepared by the spray forming process,and its microstructure evolution during the semisolid reheating process was investigated.The results show that,the primary Si phase coarsens during the reheating process and the coarsening rate increases with the increase of reheating temperature.The eutectic phase is produced in the molten region when quenched in the cold water.The microstructure evolution in the semisolid state can be divided into three stages.The remarkable characteristic of the first stage is only a solid-state phase transformation process.However,the region around the α（Al） matrix gradually melts in the second stage.The primary Si in the liquid phase coarsens obviously,and the eutectic phase is produced in the molten region when the specimens are quenched in cold water.In the last stage,the same thing as that in the second stage happens except that all the α（Al） matrixes are melted.

Overflowing phenomenon during ultrasonic treatment in Al-Si alloys

At the late stage of solidification with ultrasonic treatment （UST） in Al-Si alloys, a part of semisolid overflows and climbs along the probe. The interesting phenomenon and its influence on the solidification microstructure were investigated in order to better study the mechanism of UST. It is considered that the overflowing phenomenon occurs due to the changes of vibration and flow in the remaining semisolid. Because the overflowed portion comes from the region with intense UST effect and vibrates with the probe during solidification, great modification of primary and euteetic Si （about 10 pm in length） and refinement of primary a（Al） （about 70 μm in size） are observed in this portion.

Dry sliding wear behavior of rheocast hypereutectic Al-Si alloys with different Fe contents

The effect of iron content on wear behavior of hypereutectic Al?17Si?2Cu?1Ni alloy produced by rheocasting process was investigated. The dry sliding wear tests were carried out with a pin-on-disk wear tester. The results show that the wear rate of the rheocast alloy is lower than that of the alloy produced by conventional casting process under the same applied load. The fine particle-likeδ-Al4(Fe,Mn)Si2 and polygonalα-Al15(Fe,Mn)3Si2 phases help to improve the wear resistance of rheocast alloys. As the volume fraction of fine Fe-bearing compounds increases, the wear rate of the rheocast alloy decreases. Moreover, the wear rate of rheocast alloy increases with the increase of applied load from 50 to 200 N. For the rheocast alloy with 3% Fe, oxidation wear is the main mechanism at low applied load (50 N). At higher applied loads, a combination of delamination and oxidation wear is the dominant wear mechanism.

Variation of the second-phase morphology and its influence on fracture behavior of Al-Si alloy

Using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM), the variation of eutectic Si morphology of Al-Si alloy in solution treatment was observed to study its influence on mechanical properties and fracture behavior. The results show that eutectic Si undergoes stubbing, necking, fragmentation, and growth in the initial stage (250 min); in the middle solution stage (250 to 400 min), the eutectic Si morphology has no significant change, only the degree of spheroidizing becomes higher; after 600 min, the growth of eutectic Si is a coarsening process controlled by diffusion and follows the Liftshitz-Slyozov-Wangner (LSW) model, and the eutectic Si morphology deteriorates due to the occurrence of facets and lap. Based on the quantitative measure and regression analysis, the eutectic Si morphology has a remarkable influence on mechanical properties and fracture behavior.

Effect of pre-annealing on microstructure and compactibility of gas-atomized Al-Si alloy powders

Effect of pre-annealing treatment temperature on compactibility of gas-atomized Al-27%Si alloy powders was investigated. Microstructure and hardness of the annealed powders were characterized. Pre-annealing results in decreasing Al matrix hardness, dissolving of needle-like eutectic Si phase, precipitation and growth of supersaturated Si atoms, and spheroidisation of primary Si phase. Compactibility of the alloy powders is gradually improved with increasing the annealing temperature to 400 ℃. However, it decreases when the temperature is above 400 ℃ owing to the existence of Si-Si phase clusters and the densely distributed Si particles. A maximum relative density of 96.1% is obtained after annealing at 400 ℃ for 4 h. In addition, the deviation of compactibility among the pre-annealed powders reaches a maximum at a pressure of 175 MPa. Therefore, a proper pre-annealing treatment can significantly enhance the cold compactibility of gas-atomized Al-Si alloy powders.

Effects of Mg content on primary Mg_2Si phase in hypereutectic Al-Si alloys

Hypereutectic Al-Si alloy with variant Mg contents were fabricated by casting,and the effects of Mg content on the microstructure of primary Mg2Si particles in hypereutectic Al-Si alloys were investigated.The results show that the volume fraction of primary Mg2Si particles increases linearly with raising the Mg content,but the average size of Mg2Si particles does not exhibit a corresponding change.When the Mg content is 3%,á1 0 0？ directions have the fastest growth velocity,so that Mg2Si particles are likely to form octahedron shape.When gradually increasing the Mg content,the distributions of Mg and Si atoms on the solid-liquid interface become inhomogeneous,which results in the formation of irregular octahedron structures.Finally,when the Mg content is about 10%,the morphology of primary Mg2Si particles changes from the octahedron shape into various complex structures with a large size.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of hypereutectic Al-Si alloy modified with Cu-P

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-14.6Si castings modified by Cu-P master alloy under different conditions were studied with optical microscope（OM） and mechanical testing and simulation（MTS）.The results indicate that the Cu-P master alloy possesses not only obvious modification effect,but also longevity effect with more than 8 h on the hypereutectic Al-Si alloy.It is shown from thermal calculation,scanning electron microscope（SEM）,and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays（EDAX） that the modification mechanism of Cu-P on primary silicon in the castings is heterogeneous nucleation around AlP particles.The Cu-P master alloy has no or little modifying effect on eutectic silicon,even though it has obvious modification on primary silicon in the castings.This may be because of the fast transformation of eutectic silicon at a very narrow temperature,which will notably weaken the role of AlP particles as heterogeneous nuclei for eutectic silicon.

Research on semi-solid slurry of a hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy prepared by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring

The semi-solid slurry of a hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy was manufactured by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. The effects of pouting temperature and stirring power on the semi-solid slurry were investigated. The results indicated that the semi-solid slurry to satisfy rheocasting can be manufactured by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. The pouring temperature （or superheat） and the stirring power remarkably affected the morphology of primary α-Al and the size of primary α-Al, and there is no obvious effect of stirring time on primary α-Al. Compared with the samples made by low superheat pouring with no stirring, the nucleation rate, particle morphology and grain size of primary α-Al in A356 were markedly improved by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. On the condition of weak electromagnetic stirring, the pouring temperature with low superheat can be suitably raised to reach the effectiveness obtained from the lower pouring temperature without stirring.

Al-Si-P master alloy and its modification and refinement performance on Al-Si alloys

An Al-Si-P master alloy has been developed by an in-situ reaction and the electron probe microanalyzer （EPMA） results show that there are many pre-formed AlP particles contained in the master alloy. Silicon introduced into the system plays an important role in remarkably improving the distribution and content of AlP particles due to their similar crystal structure and lattice parameters. ZL109 alloys have shown fast modification response to the addition of 0.5% Al-15Si-3.5P master alloy at 720℃, with a mass of primary Si precipitating in size of about 15 μm. Also, coarse primary Si grains in AI-30Si alloy can be refined dramatically from 150 μm to 37 μm after the addition of 2.0% Al-15Si-3.5P master alloy at 850℃. The P recovery of the Al-15Si-3.5P master alloy is much higher than that of a Cu-8.5P master alloy due to the pre-formed AlP particles.

Microstructure and performance of Al-Si alloy with high Si content by high temperature diffusion treatment

The Al-Si alloy with high Si content was prepared by pressure infiltration. Microstructure observation shows that three-dimensional structure （3D-structure） is obtained from irregular sharp Si particles via high temperature diffusion treatment （HTDT）. Flat Si-Al interfaces transform to smooth curves, and Si phases precipitate in Al and Si-Al interface. The bonding of Si-Al interface is improved by HTDT, which improves the mechanical performance of Al-Si alloy. The bending strength of 3D-Al-Si alloy increases by 6% compared with that of Al-Si alloy, but the elastic modulus changes a little. The coefficient of thermal expansion （CTE） of the 3D-Al-Si alloy is 7.7×10^-6/℃ from 20℃ to 100 ℃, which decreases by 7% compared with that of Al-Si alloy. However, HTDT has little effect on the thermal conductivity of Al-Si alloy.

Manufacture technique of semi-solid slurry of hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring

The semi-solid slurry of hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy was manufactured by low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. The effects of pouring temperature and stirring power on the semi-solid slurry making process were investigated. The results indicate that the semi-solid slurry to satisfy rheocasting requirement can be made by a combination of low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. The pouring temperature (or superheat) and the stirring power significantly affect the morphology and the size of primary α-Al, while there is no obvious effect of the stirring time on primary α-Al. Compared with the samples made by low superheat pouring without stirring, the nucleation rate, particle morphology and grain size of primary α-Al in A356 Al alloy are markedly improved by a process of applying both low superheat pouring and weak electromagnetic stirring. Under the condition of weak electromagnetic stirring applied, the pouring temperature with low superheat can be equivalently to reach the effectiveness obtained from the even lower pouring temperature without stirring.

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.

Functions and mechanism of modification elements in eutectic solidification of Al-Si alloys:A brief review

Being used more and more widely in engineering,AlSi alloys comprise about 80%of all kinds of aluminum alloys,which are the most widely utilized nonferrous alloys.Although most Al-Si alloys consist of multiple components,the eutectics in the structure accounts for 50%-90%of the sum volume of such alloys.Therefore,understanding the modification mechanism and function rules of the AlSi eutectic solidification is the technical key in controlling the structures and properties of such casting alloys.The present paper chiefly reviews recent investigation developments and important conclusions along the lines of the functions of modification elements and their modification mechanism in the eutectic solidification of Al-Si alloys.