Abstract
The applicability of materials is highly dependent on its microstructure and mechanical properties. Aluminium alloy is being used extensively under diverse conditions. This study investigates the effects of cooling rate on the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of 6xxx-series aluminium alloy. Aluminium ingot was melted in a muffle furnace and cast into rods. The cooling rate was controlled by holding the moulds at different temperatures. Microstructural characteristics were examined by optical microscopy. Mechanical properties such as impact strength, hardness, and tensile strength were analysed using standard methods. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization. It was found that microstructures are dominated by ferrite and pearlite phases with different morphologies and grain sizes depending on the cooling rate. Increasing the cooling rate resulted in microstructural refinement and chemical homogeneity, improvement in mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the 6xxx alloy.
Highlights
Most applications of aluminium alloy are dependent on their mechanical properties which are mainly dependent on microstructure [1]. 6xxx-series aluminium alloy is widely used as structural materials in aircraft and automobile because of its high strength and low density [2]
The lowest value of Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) recorded in sample cooled at 230 °C is due to the presence of coarser pearlite structure [15]
The grains in the ice-cooled and air-cooled samples were finer and more uniform. This observation agrees with Elahetia (2013) that mechanical properties increased with increase in cooling rate
Summary
Most applications of aluminium alloy are dependent on their mechanical properties which are mainly dependent on microstructure [1]. 6xxx-series aluminium alloy is widely used as structural materials in aircraft and automobile because of its high strength and low density [2]. The effects of cooling rate on mechanical behaviour of bulk cast of A380 aluminium alloy by using copper as a die material for attaining fast heat transfer during solidification has been investigated. Their results showed that a faster cooling rate improved the ultimate tensile strength [5]. This study investigates the effect of cooling rate during casting process on microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of 6xxx-series aluminium alloy. Effects of Cooling Rate on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of 6xxx Aluminium Alloy. The average of the three energy values absorbed by each sample as indicated by the loose registering pointer on scale were record
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