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Effect of Various Mg/Si Ratios on Microstructure and Structural Properties of Thixoextruded Al-Si-Mg Alloys

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Abstract

Semisolid forming is a processing technique which involves working between the semisolid temperature ranges. By powder metallurgy route, globular grains can be obtained which is a prerequisite for semisolid processing. In this work, Al-Si-Mg alloy with different Mg/Si ratios of 0.75, 1, 1.5, and 2 have been extruded and the mechanical and metallurgical properties prior and after extrusion process have been evaluated. Differential thermal analysis was used to determine the solidus and liquidus point temperatures within the range of 560 to 580 °C. Extrusion was carried out for three different temperatures namely (i) near solidus (ts), (ii) near eutectic (te), and (iii) near liquidus temperatures (tl) and three different strain rates (0.1 s−1, 0.2 s−1 and 0.3 s−1) respectively. Specimens were demarcated into three regions (head, middle, and tail) with tail region showing high hardness (65 HV) properties whereas head and middle regions displaying higher densities (90-95%). Similarly, specimens extruded at eutectic temperatures offered average density (90%) and high hardness (65 HV). Among the ratios, R=2 offered high mechanical properties. Grain size analysis revealed that R=0.75 had coarse grains (160 μm) and more spherical grains (0.9) but as the ratio increased the grain size decreased (40 μm). Deep learning technique like convolutional neural networks were used for feature prediction which predicted the 𝜶-Al grains with an accuracy of above 90%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Director of National Institute of Technology-Warangal, faculty members and laboratory staff of Mechanical Engineering Department as well as Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department for their support throughout the completion of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India

    Abeyram M. Nithin & M. J. Davidson

  2. NIT Andhra Pradesh, Tadepalligudem, AP, India

    C. S. P. Rao

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  1. Abeyram M. Nithin
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  2. M. J. Davidson
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  3. C. S. P. Rao
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Contributions

M. J. Davidson: Conceptualization, Methodology, Editing, C. S. P Rao: Editing, Supervision, Abeyram M Nithin: Experimentation and characterization.

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Correspondence to Abeyram M. Nithin.

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Nithin, A.M., Davidson, M.J. & Rao, C.S.P. Effect of Various Mg/Si Ratios on Microstructure and Structural Properties of Thixoextruded Al-Si-Mg Alloys. Silicon 14, 11675–11686 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-01689-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-01689-5

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