Microstructural Evolution and Growth of Intermetallic Compounds at the Interface between Solid Cast Iron and Liquid Al–Si Alloy

Jeong-Min Kim,Je-Sik Shin,Keesam Shin

doi:10.3390/met10060759

Jeong-Min Kim, Je-Sik Shin + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/met10060759

Copy DOI

Abstract

Compound casting has received a great deal of attention as a useful method for fabricating a single complicated part from dissimilar metallic materials. For example, in the case of automobile cylinder blocks, research is being carried out to compound cast iron with aluminum alloys. In order to manufacture such as composite parts, it is essential to control the intermetallic compound formed at the interface between two metals. In this research, the type and growth behavior of compounds formed at the interface between cast iron and aluminum, or Al–Si alloy, were investigated. It was observed that the Al5Fe2 phase was mainly formed at the interface between the pure aluminum melt and the solid cast iron, and the thickness of the interfacial compound increased proportionally with increasing contact time. On the other hand, more complex phases were formed at the interface between the Al–Si alloy melt and the solid cast iron. In the case of a specimen having a contact time of 10 min, Al4.5FeSi, Al8Fe2Si and Al5Fe2 phases appeared to occupy the largest portion of the interfacial compound region. The total thickness of the interfacial compounds also increased in proportion to the contact time.

Highlights

As the demand for weight reduction continues to increase, especially in the automotive industry, efforts to replace previous iron-based parts using aluminum alloys are on the rise.aluminum alloys have lower mechanical properties and heat resistance than iron-based alloys, in spite of their many advantages
Because the relatively low properties of aluminum alloys are limiting their expansion, much attention has been focused on a technique for manufacturing an iron-based alloy, and an aluminum alloy as a composite part, in order to overcome the low properties of the aluminum alloy
There are various methods of manufacturing composite parts, but among them, the compound casting method, which is capable of manufacturing a complicated shape part, and has excellent economical merit, has received a great deal of attention [1,2,3]

Summary

Introduction

As the demand for weight reduction continues to increase, especially in the automotive industry, efforts to replace previous iron-based parts using aluminum alloys are on the rise.aluminum alloys have lower mechanical properties and heat resistance than iron-based alloys, in spite of their many advantages. There are various methods of manufacturing composite parts, but among them, the compound casting method, which is capable of manufacturing a complicated shape part, and has excellent economical merit, has received a great deal of attention [1,2,3]. The iron may be partly dissolved in an aluminum alloy melt, depending on the process conditions [4,5,6]. It is known that the Al5 Fe2 and Al3 Fe phases are mainly formed at the interface between the steel and the pure aluminum melt [7,12,13,14,15,16,17], while various

Methods

Results

Conclusion