Effect of Direct Chill Casting Speed and Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-13.9%Mg<sub>2</sub>Si Composite

Abstract

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of different casting speed in DC casting process and solution heat treatment of in situ Al-13.9%Mg2Si composite. The increasing of DC casting speed not only makes primary Mg2Si distribute more uniform and restricts segregation of primary Mg2Si particles, but also it reduces primary Mg2Si particle size. The DC casting speed significantly alter the eutectic Mg2Si phase from fibrous to fine dot-like and eutectic phase refines effectively. The results obtained from mechanical testing demonstrated that the increasing of DC casting speed intensifies both hardness and tensile strength values. Then, the billet were subjected to solutionizing at 500oC for holding time of 4h followed by quenching. The results indicate that the morphology of both primary and eutectic Mg2Si changes after heat treatment. Solutionizing leads to the dissolution of the Mg2Si particles and changes morphology from sharp edges to round shape. After solution heat treatment, tensile strength and elongation increase to 238.8MPa and 13.5%.