EFFECT OF SILICON ADDITION ON SPECIFIC ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY AND HARDNESS OF Al–1%Fe–0,3%Zr ALLOY

Abstract

Calculation methods and Thermo-Calc software were used to analyze isothermal sections of the Al–Fe–Si–Zr alloy diagram at 450 °C and 600 °C, and polythermal sections at the concentrations of silicon up to 2 wt.% and zirconium up to 1 wt.%. It has been shown that a favorable phase composition consisting of an aluminum solid solution (Al) and an Al8Fe2Si phase with zirconium contained in a solid solution (Al) can be achieved under equilibrium conditions when making a cast section at silicon concentrations of 0,27–0,47 wt.%. In order to implement the process under non-equilibrium conditions of the abovementioned structural components and to ensure Zr inclusion in the (Al) composition, test ingots were made at an increased cooling rate (over 10 K/s). The metallographic analysis of the sample cast structure revealed the desired structure at 0,25 wt.% of Si and 0,3 wt.% of Zr in the alloy. The Al–1%Fe–0,3%Zr–0,5%Si alloy microstructure also contains the (Al) + Al8Fe2Si eutectic, but it is observed that the Al8Fe2Si phase is partially transformed into Al3Fe in step annealing at 600 °C. The structure of the alloy with 0,25 wt.% of silicon in the T600 state contains fragmented particles of the (Al) + Al8Fe2Si degenerate eutectic along the boundaries of dendritic cells. It has been found that the Si : Fe = 1 : 2 ratio in the alloy has a positive effect on its mechanical properties, especially hardness, without any significant conductivity reduction in the annealing process. This effect is explained by compact morphology formation in the structure of Al8Fe2Si phase particles. Moreover, silicon accelerates solid solution decomposition in terms of zirconium, as shown by the experimental graphs of hardness and resistivity dependence on the annealing step. Using the optimization function for the given hardness and resistivity parameters, the Al–1%Fe– 0,3%Zr–0,25%Si alloy demonstrated the best set of properties in the T450 state.