• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.169-173
• /
• 2012

Recently, various attempts to produce a heat sink made of Al 6xxx alloys have been carried out using die-casting. In order to apply die-casting, the Al alloys should be verified for die-soldering ability with die steel. It is generally well known that both Fe and Mn contents have effects on decreasing die soldering, especially with aluminum alloys containing substantial amounts of Si. However, die soldering has not been widely studied for the low Si aluminum (1.0~2.0wt%) alloys. Therefore, in this study, an investigation was performed to consider how the soldering phenomena were affected by Fe and Mn contents in low Si aluminum alloys. Each aluminum alloy was melted and held at $680^{\circ}C$. Then, STD61 substrate was dipped for 2 hr in the melt. The specimens, which were air cooled, were observed using a scanning electron microscope and were line analyzed by an electron probe micro analyzer. The SEM results of the dipping soldering test showed an Al-Fe inter-metallic layer in the microstructure. With increasing Fe content up to 0.35%, the Al-Fe inter-metallic layer became thicker. In Al-1.0%Si alloy, the additional content of Mn also increased the thickness of the inter-metallic layer compared to that in the alloy without Mn. In addition, EPMA analysis showed that Al-Fe inter-metallic compounds such as $Al_2Fe$, $Al_3Fe$, and $Al_5Fe_2$ formed in the die soldering layers.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.406-414
• /
• 2003

In order to produce good wear resistance powder metallurgy Al-Si alloys with high strength, addition of glass forming elements of Ni and Ce in $Al_{81}$Si$_{19}$ alloy was examined using SEM, TEM, tensile strength and wear testing. The solubility of Si in aluminum increased with increasing Ni and Ce contents for rapidly solidified powders. These bulk alloys consist of a mixed structure in which fine Si particles with a particle size below 500 nm and very fine A1$_3$Ni, A1$_3$Ce compounds with a particle size below 200 nm are homogeneously dispersed in aluminum matrix with a grain size below 600 nm. The tensile strength at room temperature for $Al_{81}$Si$_{19}$, $Al_{78}$Si$_{19}$Ni$_2$Ce$_{0.5}$, and $Al_{76}$Si$_{19}$Ni$_4$Ce$_1$ bulk alloys extruded at 674 K and ratio of 10 : 1 is 281,521, and 668 ㎫ respectively. Especially, $Al_{73}$Si$_{19}$Ni$_{7}$Ce$_1$ bulk alloy had a high tensile strength of 730 ㎫. These bulk alloys are good wear-resistance bel ter than commercial I/M 390-T6. Specially, attactability for counterpart is very little, about 15 times less than that of the I/M 390-T6. The structural refinement by adding glass forming elements such as Ni and Ce to hyper eutectic $Al_{81}$Si$_{19}$ alloy is concluded to be effective as a structural modification method.d.tion method.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.132-137
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of solution treatment time and Sr-modification on the microstructure and property of the Al-Si piston alloy. It was found that as-cast microstructures of unmodified and Sr-modified Al-Si alloys consisted of a coarse acicular plate of eutectic Si, $Cu_3NiAl_6$ and $Mg_2Si$ phases in the ${\alpha}$-Al matrix but different in size and morphology. Both size and inter-particle spacing of Si particles were significantly changed by increasing of the solution treatment time. After a short solution treatment, the coarse acicular plate of the eutectic Si appears to be fragmented. Fully modified microstructure of Sr-modified alloy can reduce the solution treatment time to shorter compared to unmodified alloy. The maximum of a peak hardness value is found in the very short solution treatment of both Al-Si piston alloys. Compared to 10 h solution treatment, the solution treatment of 2-4 h is sufficient to achieve appropriate microstructures and hardness. The short solution treatment is very useful to increase the productivity and to reduce the manufacturing cost of the Al-Si piston alloys.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.82-85
• /
• 2012

The effect of the alloy systems Al-Mg alloy and Al-Si alloy in this study on the characteristics of die-casting were investigated using solidification simulation software (MAGMAsoft). Generally, it is well known that the casting characteristics of Al-Mg based alloys, such as the fluidity, feedability and die soldering behaviors, are inferior to those of Al-Si based alloys. However, the simulation results of this study showed that the filling pattern behaviors of both the Al-Mg and Al-Si alloys were found to be very similar, whereas the Al-Mg alloy had higher residual stress and greater distortion as generated due to solidification with a larger amount of volumetric shrinkage compared to the Al-Si alloy. The Al-Mg alloy exhibited very high relative numbers of stress-concentrated regions, especially near the rib areas. Owing to the residual stress and distortion, defects were evident in the Al-Mg alloy in the areas predicted by the simulation. However, there were no visible defects observed in the Al-Si alloy. This suggests that an adequate die temperature and casting process optimization are necessary to control and minimize defects when die casting the Al-Mg alloy. A Tatur test was conducted to observe the shrinkage characteristics of the aluminum alloys. The result showed that hot tearing or hot cracking occurred during the solidification of the Al-Mg alloy due to the large amount of shrinkage.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.108-114
• /
• 2017

In this study, we investigated the effect of the Si content on the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of hypoeutectic Al-Si binary alloys in the range of 4~10 wt% Si. Cooling curves were measured during the solidification of the alloy cast in a step-wise mold. We compared two kinds of solidification time: the first is the total solidification time for both dendritic and eutectic growth, and the second is the solidification time for only dendritic growth. The proportional constant in the relationship between SDAS and cooling rate was estimated, as this constant represents the stability of the cast microstructure. The proportional constant decreased with the Si contents from 4 wt% to 8 wt%, and it remains relatively uniform with up to 10 wt% of Si.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.337-346
• /
• 2022

In order to optimize the solution treatment conditions of Al-7Si-(0.3~0.5)Mg-(0~0.5)Cu alloys, a series of heat treatment experiments were conducted under various solution treatment times up to 7 hours at 545℃, followed by a microstructural analysis using optical microscopy, FE-SEM, and Brinell hardness measurements. Rapid coarsening of eutectic Si particles was observed in the alloys during the first 3 hours of solution treatment but the size of those Si particles did not change at longer solution treatment conditions. Meanwhile, the degree of spheroidisation of eutectic Si particles increased until the solution treatment time was increased up to 7 hours. Q-Al5Cu2Mg8Si6 andθ-Al2Cu were observed in as-cast Cu-containing Al alloys but the intermetallic compounds were dissolved completely after 3 hours of solution treatment at 545℃. Depending on the initial Mg composition of the Al alloys, π-Al8FeMg3Si either disappeared in the alloy with 0.3wt% of Mg content after 5 hours of solution treatment or remained in the alloy with 0.5wt% of Mg content after 7 hours of solution treatment time. Mg and Cu content in the primary-α phase of the Al alloys increased until the solution treatment time reached 5 hours, which was in accordance with the dissolution behavior of Mg or Cu-containing intermetallic compounds with respect to the solution treatment time. From the results of microstructural changes in the Al-7Si-Mg-Cu alloys during solution treatment, it was concluded that at least 5 hours of solution treatment at 545℃ is required to maximize the age hardening effect of the present Al alloys. The same optimal solution treatment conditions could also be derived from Brinell hardness values of the present Al-7Si-Mg-Cu alloys measured at different solution treatment conditions.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.22-27
• /
• 2019

In this study, the effects of powder size and composition on the reflectance of Al-Si based alloys are presented. First, the reflectance of Al-Si bulk and powder are analyzed to confirm the effect of powder size. Results show that the bulk has a higher reflectance than that of powder because the bulk has lower surface defects. In addition, the larger the particle size, the higher is the reflectance because the interparticle space decreases. Second, the effect of composition on the reflectance by the changing composition of Al-Si-Mg is confirmed. Consequently, the reflectance of the alloy decreases with the addition of Si and Mg because dendrite Si and $Mg_2Si$ are formed, and these have lower reflectance than pure Al. Finally, the reflectance of the alloy is due to the scattering of free electrons, which is closely related to electrical conductivity. Measurements of the electrical conductivity based on the composition of the Al-Si-Mg alloy confirm the same tendency as the reflectance.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.314-322
• /
• 1991

In this study, Na, Li, Sb, Sr were added as the modifiers to improve the mechanical proper ties of Al-Si alloys and their effects were compared one another Thermal analysis was carried out to measure the degree of undercooling, that is, the basic mechanism of modifying effect. The measurements of holding time and analyses of components of Al-Si alloys were carried out to compare the fading of the modifiers. Greater degree of undercooling was measured from the modified alloy than the normal alloys. In the modified alloy, the shape of Si was changed into a fine fiber phase or a lamellar phase from the coarse plate phase. There are not modifying effect of Sb below the $1.5^{\circ}C$ /sec of cooling rate. As the cooling rate increases, similar effects appears in the non-modified alloys like the modified alloys. Na and Li were faded in short time and were difficult to control on the melt, but Sb and Sr were scarcely faded for 6 hours of holding and were easy to control on the melt. Na and Sr are the good modifiers in terms of microstructure. Sb is the best modifier, but Na, Li are the inadequate modifiers in terms of fading.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.216-220
• /
• 2005

High ductility Al-Mg alloys often contain some Mn and Si, however the effects of these minor alloying elements on various properties of alloys have not been fully understood. In this study the castability and mechanical properties of Al-5%Mg alloy were investigated according to the addition of Mn and Si. The fluidity of the alloys was generally increased by increasing Si or Mn contents. The feedability was also increased by increasing Si content, but it was rather decreased by increasing Mn content. Both the tensile strength and the ductility appeared to be deteriorated by Si addition, while they were found to be improved by Mn addition.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.75-81
• /
• 2002

The main objectives were to investigate the suitability of CaO crucible for melting TiAl alloys and to develop investment mold for investment casting of TiAl alloys. TiAl alloy specimen were prepared by plasma arc furnace under argon atmosphere. After melting of TiAl alloy using CaO crucible, the results showed that there is little contamination of oxygen in the TiAl bulk. Conventional vacuum induction furnaces can be readily adaptable to produce cast parts of TiAl without high skilled techniques. The determination of optical metallography and microhardness profiles in investment cast TiAl alloy rods has allowed the gradation of the relative thermal stability of the oxides examined. The molds used for the present study were $ZrO_2$, $Al_2O_3$, CaO stabilized $ZrO_2$ and $ZrSiO_4$. Even although high temperature of mold preheating, $Al_2O_3$ mold is a promising mold material for investment casting of TiAl alloys in terms of thermal stability, cost and handling strength. It is important to take thermal stability and preheating temperature of mold into consideration for investment casting of TiAl alloys.