Assessing efficacy of standard impregnation techniques on die-cast aluminum alloys using X-ray micro-CT

Utilizing lightweight Al alloys in various industrial applications requires achieving precise pressure tightness and leak requirements.Vacuum pressure impregnation(VPI)with thermosetting polymers is commonly used to address leakage defects in die-cast Al alloys.In this study,the efficacy of the VPI technique in sealing alloy parts was investigated using a combination of nondestructive micro X-ray computed tomography(micro XCT)and a standard leak test.The results demonstrate that the commonly used water leak test is insufficient for determining the sealing performance.Instead,micro XCT shows distinct advantages by enabling more comprehensive analysis.It reveals the presence of a low atomic number impregnates sealant within casting defects,which has low grey contrast and allows for visualizing primary leakage paths in 3D.The effective atomic number of impregnated resin is 6.75 and that of Al alloy is 13.69 by dual-energy X-ray CT.This research findings will contribute to enhancing the standard VPI process parameters and the properties of impregnating sealants to improve quality assurance for impregnation in industrial metals.

Opportunities and challenges of Chinese die-casting market

The present status and perspectives of Chinese die-casting market were commented. In 2003, the total output of die castings in the whole country was 708000 tons, in which the outputs of Al-alloy, Zn-alloy, Mg-alloy, Cu-alloy die castings were 474600 tons, 222000 tons, 5800 tons, 5600 tons, respectively, each accounted for 67%, 31.35%, 0.85%, 0.8% of the total. The annual sale volume of die-casting machines was approximately 1800. And the gross output value of dies approached RMB 38 billion, in which die-casting dies accounted for about 10%. In the die-casting industry of the entire country, the foreign capital enterprises, public-run enterprises, township and village enterprises, private enterprises accounted for over 80% of the total die-casting enterprises. Super huge die-casting groups are forming.

Thin-Wall Aluminum Die-Casting Technology for Development of Notebook Computer Housing

Silicon-based aluminum casting alloys are known to be one of the most widely used alloy systems mainly due to their superior casting characteristics and unique combination of mechanical and physical properties. However,manufacturing of thin-walled aluminum die-casting components,less than 1.0 mm in thickness,is generally known to be very difficult task to achieve aluminum casting alloys with high fluidity.Therefore,in this study,the optimal die-casting conditions for producing 297 mm×210 mm×0.7 mm thin-walled aluminum component was examined experimentally by using 2 different gating systems,tangential and split type,and vent design.Furthermore,computational solidification simulation was also conducted.The results showed that split type gating system was preferable gating design than tangential type gating system at the point of view of soundness of casting and distortion generated after solidification.It was also found that proper vent design was one of the most important factors for producing thin-wall casting components because it was important for the fulfillment of the thin-wall cavity and the minimization of the casting distortion.

High Cycle Fatigue Properties of Die-Cast Magnesium Alloy AZ91D with Addition of Different Concentrations of Cerium

The effect of addition of different concentrations of Ce on high-cycle fatigue behavior of die-cast magnesium alloy AZ91D was investigated. Mechanical fatigue tests were conducted at the stress ratio of R = 0.1, and fatigue strength was evaluated using up-and-down loading method. The results show that the grain size of AZ91D alloy is remarkably refined, and the amount of porosity decreases and evenly distributes with the addition of Ce. The fatigue strength of AZ91D alloy at room temperature increases from 96.7 up to 116.3 MPa （ 1% Ce） and 105.5 MPa （2 % Ce）, respectively, at the number of cycles to failure, Nf = 1 × 10^7. The fatigue crack of AZ91D alloy initiates at porosities and inclusions, and propagates along grain boundaries. The fatigue striations on fractured surface appear with Ce addition. The fatigue fracture surface of test specimens shows mixed-fracture characteristics of quasi-cleavage and dimple.

A review of magnesium die-castings for closure applications

Vehicle mass reduction in the automotive industry has become an industry-wide objective.Increasing fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission targets for engine-powered vehicles,and ambitions for extended range electric vehicles have motivated these reductions in vehicle mass.Mass reduction opportunities in structural automotive applications are increasingly realized through lightweight alloy castings,such as magnesium,primarily due to the ease of component substitution.The traditional benefits of magnesium die-castings including lightweighting and associated compounded mass savings,excellent strength-to-weight ratio,part consolidation,near net-shape forming,dimensional repeatability,and integration of additional components can be realized in closure applications.One recent example is the application of a magnesium die-casting for the structural inner of the liftgate in the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica,replacing nine parts in the previous generation and resulting in a liftgate assembly weight reduction of nearly 50%.The work presented here reviews past and current developments of magnesium die-castings in closure applications and discusses the benefits and challenges of magnesium alloys for these applications,including casting design,corrosion and fastening strategies,and the manufacturing design and assembly methodologies.

Low-cycle fatigue behavior of permanent mold cast and die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys

Fatigue failure is one of the main failure forms of Al-Si-Cu-Mg aluminum alloys.To feature their mechanical aspect of fatigue behavior,the low-cycle fatigue behavior of permanent mold cast and die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys at room temperature was investigated.The experimental results show that both permanent mold cast and die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys mainly exhibit cyclic strain hardening.At the same total strain amplitude,the die-cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy shows higher cyclic deformation resistance and longer fatigue life than does the permanent mold cast Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy.The relationship between both elastic and plastic strain amplitudes with reversals to failure shows a monotonic linear behavior,and can be described by the Basquin and Coffin-Manson equations,respectively.

Simulation of α-Al grain formation in high vacuum die-casting Al-Si-Mg alloys with multi-component quantitative cellular automaton method

Al-Si-Mg alloys are the most commonly used material in high vacuum die-casting(HVDC),in which the morphology and distribution ofα-Al grains have important effect on mechanical properties.A multi-component quantitative cellular automaton(CA)model was developed to simulate the microstructure and microsegregation of HVDC Al-Si-Mg alloys with different Si contents(7%and 10%)and cooling rates during solidification.The grain number and average grain size with electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)analysis were used to verify the simulation.The relationship between grain size and nucleation order as well as nuclei density was investigated and discussed.It is found that the growth of grains will be restrained in the location with higher nuclei density.The influence of composition and cooling rate on the solute transport reveals that for AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy the concentration of solute Mg in liquid is higher at the beginning of eutectic solidification.The comparison between simulation and experiment results shows that externally solidified crystals(ESCs)have a significant effect for samples with high cooling rate and narrow solidification interval.

Development and Application of Die-Casting High Speed Steel Rolls

Due to its high hardness,good red hardness and excellent wear resistance at high temperature,high speed steel(HSS)is fit for the roll manufacture.In order to overcome the segregation of centrifugal casting of HSS roll,die-cast processes were developed and its effects on the properties of the HSS roll were investigated.It was found that pressure,pressing time and speed are three important factors affecting shrinkage cavity.For pouring temperature of 1 400-1 450 ℃,pressure of 150-160 MPa,pressing time of 120-150 sand pressing speed of 14-16mm/s,a compact HSS roll was obtained,which has no segregation and small working allowance.In the high speed wire rod rolling mill,service life of the HSS roll is 5to 8times longer than that of high nickel chromium infinite chilled cast iron roll.

Code generation and recognition using a modified ejection system in die-casting process

A code-generation and recognition technology that uses a modified ejection system in the diecasting process is presented.To achieve the highest level of quality management,the first requirement in the manufacturing process is to establish a product management system according to the specific product unit.Thus,a method to individually identify each product,such as a barcode or QR code,is required during the production process.Products manufactured in the die-casting process always have ejector pin(EP)marks.Herein,an ejection system was modified to generate a unique code using EP marks.This ejection system has two features:an EP with a modified head to show the direction of rotation,and a function to dependently rotate EPs(five or six EPs)with a constant angle.The EPs are numbered according to the rotation angle.Thus,the EP marks can be viewed as a five-or six-digit code.A program was also developed to individually identify the products by automatically detecting and reading the EPs using deep learning-based object detection and classification technology.

Development of vacuum die-casting process

The vacuum die-casting process,started 25 years ago in Japan,has been widely applied.This technology contributes very much to improvement of castings quality.The main factor causing the defects of die castings is the trapped air in the mold cavity,while the key technology of vacuum die-casting process is to avoid the trapped air effectively by evacuating the cavity before casting.At the same time,due to the shot speed and the casting pressure reduced in half,the service life of the die is prolonged and the productivity is enhanced,as well.Vacuum die-casting process is of great signif icance in improving the die castings quality and making up the shortcomings of super-high-speed shot casting.

Influence of samarium content on microstructure and mechanical properties of recycled die-cast YL112 aluminum alloys

The influence of Sm(Samarium) content on microstructure and mechanical properties of recycled die-cast YL112 aluminum alloys was investigated.The results show that many small Sm-rich particles form in the recycled die-cast YL112 alloys with Sm addition.At the same time,the secondary dendrite arm spacing in the YL112 alloys modified with Sm is smaller than that of the unmodified alloy.The eutectic Si of recycled diecast YL112-xSm alloys transforms from coarse acicular morphology to fine fibres,Mechanical properties of the investigated recycled die-cast YL112 aluminum alloys are enhanced with Sm addition,and a maximal ultimate tensile strength value(276 MPa) and elongation(3.76%) are achieved at a Sm content of 0.6wt.%.Due to the modification of eutectic Si by Sm,numerous tearing ridges and tiny dimples on the fractures of tensile samples are observed.

Influence of intensification pressures on pores in die-cast ADC12 alloys

Die casting process is widely applied in making Al parts. However, due to high speed of liquid metal flow in the die cavity, gases are prone to be entrapped in the filling, resulting in porosity defects. The X-ray computed tomography scanning technique was used to detect the pores in die-cast ADC12 alloys with different intensification pressures. The three-dimensional features of pores including pore size, number, sphericity have been obtained. The effect of different intensification pressures on two different kinds of pores, namely gas-pores and shrinkage pores, was analyzed. The results show that with increasing the pressure, the pore fractions and quantity gradually decrease. When the pressure increased to 85 MPa, the pores from gas entrapment during the mold filling were compressed, leading to a lower porosity fraction. The pressure cannot affect the pores in the samples with a thin wall (2 mm) due to a great solidification rate.

Effect of vacuum on porosity and mechanical properties of high-pressure die-cast pure copper

Pure copper tensile bars were produced by conventional die casting(HPDC) and vacuum-assist die casting(VADC) processes. Porosity and mechanical properties were investigated by using optical microscopy(OM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), X-ray computed tomography(XCT) and tensile tester. Results show that porosities including gas porosity and shrinkage porosity could be observed in copper castings. Since the application of vacuum could reduce filling related gas entrapment and facilitate solidification due to the increased heat transfer between metal and die, both number and size of the entrapped gases, as well as shrinkage porosities were significantly reduced in vacuum-assist die castings of pure copper. The porosity fraction decreased from 2.243% to 0.875% compared with that of the conventional die casting. Besides, mechanical properties were improved significantly, i.e., by 15% for ultimate tensile strength and three times for elongation.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of melt-conditioned high-pressure die-cast Mg-Al-Ca alloy

A new shape casting process,melt-conditioned high-pressure die-casting(MC-HPDC) was developed.In this process,liquid metal was conditioned under intensively forced convection provided by melt conditioning with advanced shear technology(MCAST) unit before being transferred to a conventional cold chamber high-pressure die-casting(HPDC) machine for shape casting. The effect of melt conditioning was investigated,which was carried out both above and below the liquidus of the alloy,on the microstructure and properties of a Mg-Al-Ca alloy(AZ91D+2%Ca(mass fraction) ,named as AZX912) .The results show that many coarse externally-solidified crystals(ESCs) can be observed in the centre of conventional HPDC samples,and hot tearing occurs at the inter-dendritic region because of the lack of feeding.With the melting conditioning,the MC-HPDC samples not only have considerably refined size of ESCs but also have significantly reduced cast defects,thus provide superior mechanical properties to conventional HPDC castings.The solidification behaviour of the alloy under different processing routes was also discussed.

Effect of Adding Extruded Mg-Mischmetal Intermediate Alloy on Microstructure and Properties of Die-Casting Magnesium Alloy AZ91D

The preparation techniques of Mg-mischmetal intermediate alloy and the effects of the mischmetal addition ranging from 0.45% to 1.04% on the microstructure and properties of AZ91D alloy prepared by die casting were investigated. The Mg-MM intermediate alloy was prepared by permanent mold casting and then was extruded into the bars. The microstructure and analytical studies were carried out using optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Testing results shows the Mg-MM intermediate alloy could melt easily down at die casting temperature of 680 ℃ that was lower than the melting point of lanthanum (918 ℃) and that of cerium (798 ℃). This was propitious to protection the alloy from the oxidation at high temperatures. Then magnesium alloy test bars were produced under conventional cold chamber die casting condition with addition of different weight of the Mg-MM intermediate alloy. Observation and analysis indicated that the microstructures of the alloy were refined and RE containing Al phase was formed with increasing RE addition. The data obtained by tensile tests showed that alloying with mischmetal improved the tensile property of the AZ91D magnesium die casting alloy at ambient temperature.

Mold Filling and Prevention of Gas Entrapment in High-pressure Die-casting

这篇论文论述由 X 光检查衍射填特殊设计的 die-casting 的模子的直接观察的一些结果，包括有数字模拟的比较。基于作者讨论怎么阻止煤气的陷阱并且建议新方法的如此的工作。

Different aging behaviors at surface layer and central region of a die-casting A380 alloy during heat treatment

Microstructural and hardness evolutions of a vacuum-assistant die-cast A380(Al-8.67 wt.%Si-3.27 wt.%Cu) alloy during heat treatment were investigated. Isothermal DSC test at 200 °C revealed that the precipitation reaction in the surface layer was faster than that in the central region. This corresponded with the hardness evolution that the surface layer hardened faster. The hardness increment in the surface layer was higher than that in the central region. Further experimental evidences indicated that the differences were due to the different amounts of heterogeneous nucleation sites for precipitation in the two parts. The influence of the characteristic as-cast microstructure on the artificial aging process is analyzed and discussed in detail.

Barium phosphate conversion coating on die-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy

Poor corrosion resistance limits the application of magnesium alloys.Conversion coating is widely used to protect magnesium alloys because of easy operation and low cost.A novel conversion coating on die-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy containing barium salts was studied.The optimum concentrations of Ba(NO_3)_2,Mn(NO_3)_2 and NH_4H_2PO_4 are 25 g/L,15 mL/L and 20 g/L,respectively,based on orthogonal test results.The treating time,solution temperature and pH value are settled to be 5-30 min, 50-70℃and 2.35-3.0,respectively.The corrosion resistance of barium conversion coating is better than that of manganese-based phosphate conversion coating by immersion test.The coating is composed of Ba,P,O,Mg,Zn,Mn and Al by EDX analysis.

High cycle fatigue properties of die-cast magnesium alloy AZ91 D-1%MM

<正>The high cycle fatigue properties of the die-cast magnesium alloy AZ91D containing 1%mischmetal(mass fraction) at a fatigue ratio of 0.1 were investigated.The difference in the microstructure between the skin and core region of the die-cast magnesium alloy was analyzed by optical microscopy.The mechanical property tests indicate that the values of the tensile strength, elongation and hardness are 185 MPa,1.5%and HBS 70±3 at room temperature,respectively.The p-S-N curve(p=50%) of the die-cast magnesium alloy AZ91D-1%MM is determined and the mean fatigue strength corresponding to 3.8×10~5 cycles is 70 MPa. A linear relation between S and N_p in log scale between 10~3 and 10~6 cycles is written with a equation.The mechanical properties are influenced by the casting defects.The fatigue life of the samples with minor defects is near to the upper limit of the fatigue life data. The fatigue fracture surface of the samples with minor defects possesses the mixed characteristics of quasi-cleavage,lacerated ridge and dimple and it is brittle fracture mode as a whole.