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Tensile Properties of a Cast Al-Si-Mg Alloy with Reduced Si Content and Cr Addition at High Temperature

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Abstract

Tensile properties of an Al-Si-Mg casting alloy with reduced Si content and Cr addition were investigated at room and high temperatures. It was found that the studied alloy exhibits a remarkable performance up to 200 °C, with comparable or slightly higher strength than typical values for Al-Si-Mg-Cu alloys, commonly used for high-temperature applications, and good elongation. This is due to the choice of proper heat treatment and to the formation of dispersoids containing Cr during heat treatment, which are stable at the considered temperatures, as demonstrated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analysis. Interestingly, exposure to 300 °C during tensile tests enhanced an additional formation of dispersoids. It is believed that heating the material in T6 condition led to such observed dispersoids formation since precursors were already present in the Al matrix. This is not sufficient to avoid material softening at 300 °C, but it represents an interesting point in order to develop alternative heat treatment routes for dispersion-strengthened Al alloys.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Maxion Wheels Italia Srl for providing the alloy, F. Peli (Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the University of Brescia) for his support in tensile samples preparation and Dr. L. Montesano (Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the University of Brescia) for SEM analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze 38, 25123, Brescia, Italy

    Marialaura Tocci & Annalisa Pola

  2. Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Technologies for Energy (ICMATE), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via R. Cozzi 53, 20125, Milan, Italy

    Riccardo Donnini & Giuliano Angella

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 1, 20156, Milan, Italy

    Elisabetta Gariboldi

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  1. Marialaura Tocci
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  2. Riccardo Donnini
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Correspondence to Marialaura Tocci.

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Tocci, M., Donnini, R., Angella, G. et al. Tensile Properties of a Cast Al-Si-Mg Alloy with Reduced Si Content and Cr Addition at High Temperature. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 28, 7097–7108 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-019-04438-9

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