Evaluation of Micro-defects and Air Tightness of Al Die-casting by Impregnation of Organic Solvent

For hydrogen-vehicle applications (air pressure control valve housing, APCVH), an investigation was conducted to determine how micro-defects in a high- pressure die-casted Al alloy (industrial code: ALDC12) could be controlled by means of a post-treatment using an organic-based impregnation solution in order to improve the air- tightness of the die-casted Al sample. Two different impregnation solutions were proposed and its test results were compared to a imported product from Japan with respect to the processing variables used. A structural investigation of the components under study was conducted by means of computer tomography and 3D X-ray micro-CT. These observations revealed that the use of the impregnation treatment to seal micro-defects led to highly significant and beneficial changes which were attributed mainly to interconnections among inherent micro-pores. A leak test after impregnation revealed that the performance improvement rate of the die-casted Al sample was ~70% for INNO-01. Therefore, the developed impregnation solutions offer an effective strategy to control the micro-defects found in various vehicle parts via die-casting.

유기용제 함침법을 통한 알루미늄 다이캐스팅의 미세결함 및 기밀성 평가

본 연구에서는 고압 다이캐스팅 (High pressure die-casting, HPDC)을 통해 알루미늄 합금 (상업코드: ALDC12종)으로 수소 자동차용 부품 (Air pressure control valve housing, APCVH)을 제조하였으며 주조품의 기밀성을 향상시키기 위해 유기 함침액을 개발하였다. 개발된 2종류의 유기 함침액 (INNO-series, 한국)과 상용 합침액 (P601, 일본)을 사용하여 함침공정 조건 및 후 처리에 따른 미세결함과 기밀성을 비교 평가하였다. 컴퓨터 단층촬영 및 3차원 X-선 현미경 분석을 통해 함침된 알루미늄 주조품의 결함제어 및 성능 개선을 확인하였다. 또한, 함침 공정 후 기밀성 시험에서 INNO-01이 함침된 시료의 경우 성능 개선율이 70%인 것으로 확인하였다. 따라서, 개발된 유기 함침액은 상용 가능하며 다이캐스팅 제품의 기밀성 향상에 도움이 될 것으로 판단된다.