Heat treatment and mechanical properties of aluminum-silicon modified alloys

The commercial applications of cast Al-Si alloys depend to an important extent on controlling the morphology of the eutectic silicon through thermal modification in the solid state and/or chemical modification of the melt before the production of the casting. The effects of modification and/or heat treatment on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of 356 alloy have been investigated on both permanent mold and sand cast samples. Strontium (0.02%) and sodium (0.01%) were used to produce well modified microstructures. The importance of the amount of modifier used was also examined in producing castings with 0.002% Sr and 0.08% Sr. Production parameters such as solution heat treatment time and artificial aging time were examined.Microstructural assessment was done by quantitative metallography using image analysis coupled to SEM while mechanical testing comprised tensile testing, hardness and microhardness measurements as well as impact tests.The greatest improvement in mechanical properties obtained with modification was observed for the lower rates of solidification, i.e sand casting. The effect of modification on the heat treatment response of 356 alloy was investigated. The differences between unmodified and modified microstructures were more important in sand cast samples than in permanent mold cast samples. After one hour of solution heat treatment at 540$ sp circ$C, both permanent mold unmodified and modified microstructures became similar in terms of silicon particle size and sphericity. The processes which led to this were different. Silicon platelets in the unmodified structures segmented while silicon particles in the modified alloy coarsened. The final result was however the same. In sand cast alloy, the initial microstructural differences persisted after up to 12 hours of solution treatment. The coarser the initial as-cast microstructure, the greater the improvements associated with modification and heat treatment.It was also found that porosity caused by modification can negate many of the microstructural benefits by decreasing tensile strength and percent elongation. It was demonstrated that modification also has an influence on the aluminum matrix. The hardness of modified alloy was found to be less after the T6 temper than in unmodified alloy. This was reflected in a lower yield strength of modified 356 alloy.Quantitative microstructure-mechanical property relationships were established for the permanent mold samples. The best silicon-structure characteristics to predict the tensile properties were found to be the particle count per unit area and the particle area.It was also determined that hardness can be a simple and inexpensive means whereby ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of 356 alloy in the T4 condition or T6 condition can be estimated