Journal of Materials Science

, Volume 30, Issue 7, pp 1698–1708 | Cite as

Effect of alloying elements and dendrite arm spacing on the microstructure and hardness of an Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Fe-Mn (380) aluminium die-casting alloy

  • A. M. Samuel
  • F. H. Samuel
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Abstract

The microstructure of aluminium alloys based on 380 die-casting alloy was studied in detail, as a function of the alloying elements iron, magnesium, copper and manganese, and the solidification rate. Three methods of solidification were employed to simulate cooling rates obtained from investment, permanent, and die-casting processes, corresponding to ∼ 0.4, ∼ 12 and ∼ 260 °C s−1, respectively, with emphasis on the highest cooling rate. Hardness measurements were carried out on samples obtained from the latter, in the as-cast and T5 tempered conditions (4 h at 25, 155, 180, 200 and 220 °C). The results have been discussed and the correlation between the hardness and microstructure as a function of alloying elements is presented. The effect of solution heat treatment on the variations in the microstructure and hardness has also been discussed.

Keywords

Copper Microstructure Magnesium Heat Treatment Manganese 
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Copyright information

© Chapman & Hall 1995

Authors and Affiliations

  • A. M. Samuel
    • 1
  • F. H. Samuel
    • 1
  1. 1.Département des Sciences AppliquéesUniversité du Québec à ChicoutimiChicoutimiCanada

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