Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Rheocast Telecom Component using Low Silicon Aluminium Alloy in As‐Cast and Heat‐Treated Conditions

Abstract

The growing demand for increasingly more cost and energy effective electronics components is a challenge for the manufacturing industry. To achieve higher thermal conductivity in telecom components, an aluminum alloy with a composition of Al-2Si-0.8Cu-0.8Fe-0.3Mn was created for rheocasting. Yield strength and thermal conductivity of the material were investigated in the as cast, T5 and T6 heat-treated conditions. The results showed that in the as-cast condition thermal conductivity of 168 W/mK and yield strength of 67 MPa was achieved at room temperature. A T5 treatment at 200°C and 250°C increased thermal conductivity to 174 W/mK and 182 W/mK, respectively, while only a slight increase in yield strength was observed. Moreover, a T6 treatment resulted in similar thermal conductivity as the T5 treatment at 250°C with no significant improvement in yield strength. Therefore, the T5 treatment at 250°C was suggested as an optimum condition for the current alloy composition.