• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.337-346
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• 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 Welding and Joining
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.19-24
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• 2015

Joint properties of electric control unit (ECU) module using Sn-Cu-(X)Al(Si) lead-free solder alloy were investigated for automotive electronics module. In this study, Sn-0.5Cu-0.01Al(Si) and Sn-0.5Cu-0.03Al(Si) (wt.%) lead-free alloys were fabricated as bar type by doped various weight percentages (0.01 and 0.03 wt.%) of Al(Si) alloy to Sn-0.5Cu. After fabrications of lead-free alloys, the ball-type solder alloys with a diameter of 450 um were made by rolling and punching. The melting temperatures of 0.01Al(Si) and 0.03Al(Si) were 230.2 and $230.8^{\circ}C$, respectively. To evaluation of properties of solder joint, test printed circuit board (PCB) finished with organic solderability perseveration (OSP) on Cu pad. The ball-type solders were attached to test PCB with flux and reflowed for formation of solder joint. The maximum temperature of reflow was $260^{\circ}C$ for 50s above melting temperature. And then, we measured spreadability and shear strength of two Al(Si) solder materials compared to Sn-0.7Cu solder material used in industry. And also, microstructures in solder and intermetallic compounds (IMCs) were observed. Moreover, thickness and grain size of $Cu_6Sn_5$ IMC were measured and then compared with Sn-0.7Cu. With increasing the amounts of Al(Si), the $Cu_6Sn_5$ thickness was decreased. These results show the addition of Al(Si) could suppress IMC growth and improve the reliability of solder joint.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.58-62
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• 2017

A319 aluminum alloy containing 6.5% Si and 3.5% Cu as major alloying elements has been widely used in machinery parts because of its excellent castability and crack resistance. However it needs more wear resistance to extend its usage to the severe wear environments. It has been known that hyper-eutectic Al-Si alloy having more than 12.6% Si contains pro-eutectic Si particles, which give better wear resistance and lubrication characteristics than hypo-eutectic Al-Si alloy like A319 alloy. In this study, it was tried to clad hyper-eutectic Al-Si alloy on the surface of A319 alloy. In the experiments, Al-36%Si alloy powder was mixed with organic binder to make a fluidic paste. The paste was screen-printed on the A319 alloy surface, melted by pulsed Nd:YAG laser and alloyed with the A319 base alloy. As experimental parameters, the average laser power was changed to 111 W, 202 W and 280 W. With increasing the average laser power, the melting depth was changed to $142{\mu}m$, $205{\mu}m$ and $245{\mu}m$, and the dilution rate to 67.2 %, 72.4 % and 75.7 %, and the Si content in the cladding layer to 16.2 %, 14.6 % and 13.7 %, respectively. The cross-section of the cladding layer showed very fine eutectic microstructure even though it was hyper-eutectic Al-Si alloy. This seems to be due to the rapid solidification of the melted spot by single laser pulse. The average hardness for the three cladding layers was HV175, which was much higher than HV96 of A319 base alloy. From the block-on-roll wear tests, A319 alloy had a wear loss of 5.8 mg, but the three cladding layers had an average wear loss of 3.5 mg, which meant that an increase of 40 % in wear resistance was obtained by laser cladding.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.97-102
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• 2024

In this study, the properties of Zr-14Cu-7.5Ni-2.6Al wide ribbon with amorphous structure and properties were analyzed using Hall effect, SEM-EDX, and XRD. Made by melt spinning method, this Zr-14Cu-7.5Ni-2.6Al based alloy ribbon is not more than 96 ㎛ thick and 100 mm wide. This amorphous alloy exhibited tensile strength of 1,641 MPa, yield strength of 1,541 MPa, elongation of 1% and elastic modulus of 98GPa. The bulk concentration, resistivity, and mobility values are midway between general heavy doping ceramics and metals, and they are about 100 times weaker than ordinary metals, so they are close to Si and have good electrical conductivity. In addition, folding tests were conducted at extreme temperatures, withstanding 150,000 times at -20℃, 300,000 times at 24℃, and 150,000 times at 60℃, with no folding defects observed. These results demonstrate the excellent durability and reliability of the Zr-14Cu-7.5Ni-2.6Al wide ribbon alloy and suggest the possibility of developing electronic products using this alloy.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.227-232
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• 2013

Al-based alloys have recently attracted considerable interest as structural materials and light weight materials due to their excellent physical and mechanical properties. For the investigation of the potential of Al-based alloys, a surface porous $Al_{88}Cu_6Si_6$ eutectic alloy has been fabricated through a chemical leaching process. The formation and microstructure of the surface porous $Al_{88}Cu_6Si_6$ eutectic alloy have been investigated using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The $Al_{88}Cu_6Si_6$ eutectic alloy is composed of an ${\alpha}$-Al dendrite phase and a single eutectic phase of $Al_2Cu$ and ${\alpha}$-Al. We intended to remove only the ${\alpha}$-Al phase and then the $Al_2Cu$ phase would form a porous structure on the surface with open pores. Both acidic and alkaline aqueous chemical solutions were used with various concentrations to modify the influence on the microstructure and the overall chemical reaction was carried out for 24 hr. A homogeneous open porous structure on the surface was revealed via selective chemical leaching with a $H_2SO_4$ solution. Only the ${\alpha}$-Al phase was successfully leached while the morphology of the $Al_2Cu$ phase was maintained. The pore size was in a range of $1{\sim}5{\mu}m$ and the dealloying depth was nearly $3{\mu}m$. However, under an alkaline NaOH, aqueous solution, an inhomogeneous porous structure on the surface was formed with a 5 wt% NaOH solution and the morphology of the $Al_2Cu$ phase was not preserved. In addition, the sample that was leached by using a 7 wt% NaOH solution crumbled. Al extracted from the Al2Cu phase as ${\alpha}$-Al phase was dealloyed, and increasing concentration of NaOH strongly influenced the morphology of the $Al_2Cu$ phase and sample statement.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.306-313
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• 2017

This study investigated the microstructure, tensile strength, and high cycle fatigue properties of ADC12 aluminum alloys with different $Mg+Al_2Ca$ contents manufactured using die casting process. Microstructural observation identified the presence of ${\alpha}-Al$, eutectic Si, $Al_2Cu$, and Fe-intermetallic phases. The increase of $Mg+Al_2Ca$ content resulted in finer pore size and decreased pore distribution. Room temperature tensile strength tests were conducted at strain rate of $1{\times}10^{-3}/sec$. For 0.6%Mg ADC12, measured UTS, YS, and El were 305.2MPa, 157.0MPa, and 2.7%, respectively. For 0.8%Mg ADC12, measured UTS, YS, and El were 311.2 MPa, 159.4 MPa, and 2.4%, respectively. Therefore, 0.8% ADC12 alloy had higher strength and slightly decreased elongation compared to 0.6% Mg ADC12. High cycle fatigue tests revealed that 0.6% Mg ADC12 alloy had a fatigue limit of 150 MPa while 0.8% Mg ADC12 had a fatigue limit of 160MPa. It was confirmed that $Mg+Al_2Ca$ added ADC12 alloy achieved finer, spherical eutectic Si particles, and $Al_2Cu$ phases with greater mechanical and fatigue properties since size and distribution of pores and shrinkage cavities decreased as $Mg+Al_2Ca$ content increased.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.244-252
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• 1994

The morphological changes of primary solid particles as a fuction of process time on Al-Si alloys during semi-solid state processing with a shear rate of 200s were studied. In hypereutectic Al-15.5wt%Si alloy, it was observed that primary Si crystals are fragmented in the early stage of stirring and morphologies of primary Si crystals change from faceted to spherical during isothermal shearing for 60 minutes. In quaternary Al-12.5wt%Si-2.9wt%Cu-0.7wt%Mg alloy system, it was observed both primary silicon and ${\alpha}$-alumunum particles. Microstructural evolution of primary Si crystals was similar to that of the hypereutectic Al-Si alloy but equiaxed ${\alpha}$-Al dendrites are broken into nearly spherical at the early stage of shearing and later stage of the isothermal shearing ${\alpha}$- Al particles are slightly coarsoned by Ostwald ripening. Mechanical properties of Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy were compared to those from other processes (squeeze casting and gravity casting). After T6 heat treatment, comparable values of hardness were obtained while slightly lower compressive strength values were observed in rheocast alloy. The elongation, on the other hand, exhibited significant increasement of 15% over gravity cast alloy.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2014

Recently, the fuel oil of diesel engines of marine ships has been increasingly changed to heavy oil of low quality as the oil price is getting higher and higher. Therefore, the spiral gear attached at the motor of the oil purifier which plays an important role to purify the heavy oil is also easy to expose at severe environmental condition due to the purification of the heavy oil in higher temperature. Thus, the material of the spiral gear requires a better mechanical strength, wear and corrosion resistance. In this study, the heat treatment(tempering) with various holding time at temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ was carried out to the alloy of Cu-7Al-2.5Si as centrifugal casting, and the properties of both hardness and corrosion resistance with and without heat treatment were investigated with observation of the microstructure and with electrochemical methods, such as measurement of corrosion potential, cathodic and anodic polarization curves, cyclic voltammogram, and a.c. impedance. in natural seawater solution. The ${\alpha}$, ${\beta}^{\prime}$ and ${\gamma}_2$ phases were observed in the material in spite of no heat treatment due to quenching effect of a spin mold. However, their phases, that is, ${\beta}^{\prime}$ and ${\gamma}_2$ phases decreased gradually with increasing the holding time at a constant temperature of $500^{\circ}C$. The hardness more or less decreased with heat treatment, however its corrosion resistance was improved with the heat treatment. Furthermore, the longer holding time, the better corrosion resistance. In addition, when the holding time was 48hrs, its corrosion current density showed the lowest value. The pattern of corroded surface was nearly similar to that of the pitting corrosion, and this morphology was greatly observed in the case of no heat treatment. It is considered that ${\gamma}_2$ phase at the grain boundary was corroded preferentially as an anode. However, the pattern of general corrosion exhibited increasingly due to decreasing the ${\gamma}_2$ phase with heat treatment. Consequently, it is suggested that the corrosion resistance of Cu-7Al-2.5Si alloy can be improved with the heat treatment as a holding time for 48 hrs at $500^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.114-121
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• 1987

In order to determine the plane strain fracture toughness of Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy castings, solution heat treatments have been conducted at $530^{\circ}C$ for 8hr and aged for 10hr at $145^{\circ}C$, $160^{\circ}C$ and $175^{\circ}C$. Effects of aging treatment and of Si contents on the fracture toughness have been investigated by a three point loaded bend test, using the artificial notch. The results obtained are as follows; 1) The fracture toughness is appreciably affected by the aging treatment temperature and Si contents. The specimen aged for 10hr at $145^{\circ}C$ has the highest fracture toughness. 2) Increasing Si contents from 5% to 9% results in decrease of fracture toughness. 3) Increasing the aging temperature and Si contents, C.O.D. value was decreased. The specimen aged for 10hr at $145^{\circ}C$ has the highest C.O.D. value. 4) Dimple patterns were observed in the specimens of containing under 7% Si, while mixed cleavage-dimple patterns in those of over 8% Si.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.30-39
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• 2003

Porous hybrid preforms were fabricated by reactive sintering using the compacts consisting of SiC particles, Fe and Al powders. Squeeze casting processing was employed to produce the composite in which the matrix phase is Al-Si7Mg. The microstructural change and wear resistance of the composites were investigated in terms of an amount of SiC particles. The wear loss was increased with increasing the contact pressure in the alloy containing SiC particles coated with Cu. The most drastic change was found to the specimen tested at 2.5 MPa of contact pressure. Concerning the alloys containing SiC particles coated with Ni-P, a drastic increase in the wear loss exhibited at 2 MPa of contact pressure in those alloys containing 4 and 8 wt. % of SiC particles coated with Ni-P. In the alloy containing 16 wt. % a proportional increase in wear loss was observed to the change of contact pressure. With respecting to the sliding velocity, the wear loss of the alloy containing SiC particles coated with Cu increased at the initial stage of wear process and then decreased. Similar result was found in the alloys containing SiC particles coated with Ni-P. On the basis of the present results obtained, it was found that wear resistance of the alloys tested was improved to show in the order of the alloy reinforced by coated SiC particles > by uncoated SiC particles > by intermetallic compound without SiC particles.