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Alloy Composition and Dendrite Arm Spacing in Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Fe Alloys

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Abstract

Six Al-Si-Cu-Mg-(Fe/Mn) alloys with two levels of each of Cu, Si, and Fe/Mn were cast in the form of quasi-directionally solidified plates. The secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) was measured as a function of the distance from the chill end for each composition and related to the local cooling rate as determined by thermocouples embedded in one of the cast plates. For a given cooling rate, Si has a strong, consistently refining effect on the SDAS per unit of solute content. Cu showed its strongest refining effect at low-Si and high-Fe contents. It is argued that the scale of the SDAS is determined by a combination of five main factors: constitutional undercooling; the fraction of Al-Si eutectic; and the amount, morphology, and distribution of the various intermetallic phases. The first two factors affect the early stages of the dendrite structure and SDAS formation, whereas the ones involving intermetallics affect the dendrite-coarsening mechanisms in the post-eutectic stage. The latter ones are more sensitive to cooling rate than the ones involving solute in solution. The scales of both, SDAS and intermetallics, can be predetermined to a measurable extent through the solute content to best suit particular casting conditions.

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Notes

  1. For Al-(4-12 pct)Si alloys, increasing the Si content decreases both the SDAS and the ternary dendrite arm spacing, but it increases the primary spacing.[12]

  2. The cooling rate reported in Reference 23 was calculated between the liquidus and the Al-Si eutectic point, i.e., it corresponds to the current CR2.

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Acknowledgments

CAST CRC was established under, and was supported by, the Australian Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Scheme. The authors thank Cameron Davidson (CSIRO) for his assistance with the radiographs and Feng Wang (University of Queensland) for help with the SEM images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAST Co-operative Research Centre, Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Tharmalingam Sivarupan (Doctoral Student) & John A. Taylor (Principal Research Fellow)

  2. Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Carlos H. Caceres (Reader in Casting Technology)

Authors
  1. Tharmalingam Sivarupan
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  2. Carlos H. Caceres
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  3. John A. Taylor
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Correspondence to Carlos H. Caceres.

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Manuscript submitted October 31, 2012.

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Sivarupan, T., Caceres, C.H. & Taylor, J.A. Alloy Composition and Dendrite Arm Spacing in Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Fe Alloys. Metall Mater Trans A 44, 4071–4080 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-013-1768-x

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