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Use of reactive nanostructured chemicals for refinement of Si eutectic in an aluminum casting alloy

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

Trisilanol phenyl polyhedral silsesquioxane (phenyl TSP) was added to a commercial aluminum alloy, AlSi10MnMg, to investigate its influence on microstructure, mechanical properties, and solidification behavior. Addition of phenyl TSP was successful in refining the morphology of the eutectic Si into an ultrafine lamellar structure. Furthermore, this refined as-cast morphology can be obtained even when the molten aluminum alloy was held for 96 h in a furnace set at around 1000 K. This no fading phenomenon is of a significant processing benefit to the current use of Sr for refining the eutectic morphology. The ductility of phenyl TSP-refined AlSi10MnMg alloy was consistent with Sr-modified alloy at room, 423 K, and 573 K elevated temperature while maintaining similar strength. Cooling curve analysis showed the Al–Si eutectic arrest temperatures during solidification were decreased with the phenyl TSP addition, suggesting phenyl TSP bonds with Al to slow down the Al segregation from Al–Si melt during the eutectic reaction, leading to the microstructural refinement of Al–Si eutectic.

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Acknowledgements

YL and AL acknowledge the financial support from Ford Motor Company through a Ford-MSU Alliance Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, 428 S. Shaw Lane, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Yang Lu & Andre Lee

  2. Ford Research and Advanced Engineering Laboratory, Ford Motor Company, 2101 Village Road, Dearborn, MI, 48124, USA

    Larry A. Godlewski & Jacob W. Zindel

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  1. Yang Lu
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  2. Larry A. Godlewski
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  3. Jacob W. Zindel
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  4. Andre Lee
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Correspondence to Andre Lee.

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Lu, Y., Godlewski, L.A., Zindel, J.W. et al. Use of reactive nanostructured chemicals for refinement of Si eutectic in an aluminum casting alloy. J Mater Sci 54, 12818–12832 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03799-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03799-9

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