Effect of Mg and Cu on microstructure, hardness and wear on functionally graded Al–19Si alloy prepared by centrifugal casting

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the copper and the magnesium effects on the microstructure, on the hardness, and on the resistance to micro-abrasive wear of the alloy Al–19Si. Early findings could show that the hypereutectic Al–Si alloys fabricated by centrifugal casting exhibited the possibility of obtaining a Functionally Graded Material (FGM), as well as the less-dense particles tended to be concentrated in the region close to the tube inner surface. It was observed that the wear resistance in this region was increased by the concentration of primary Si and Mg2Si particles due to their smaller densities than that of the Al. Also, the Cu and Mg were added in contents of 2.5 and 5% by weight. Moreover, this study focused on understanding the radial β-Si and Mg2Si particles migration in the Al–19Si alloy tubes and their effect on hardness and wear resistance. Firstly, a large quantity of primary Si and Mg2Si particles were concentrated in the inner layer of the tubes produced by centrifugal casting in the alloys Al–19Si, Al–19Si–2.5Cu–2.5Mg and Al–19Si–5Cu–5Mg. After that, the hardness increase was related to the number of primary particles presented in this tube region. Therefore, the segregation of the primary particles towards the inner surface of the tube was more pronounced in the casting end region and the wear resistance was also related to the presence of the primary particles. However, an excessive number of primary particles accumulated near this region could lead to higher wear due to the higher particles tearing.