Solidification Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Al-Si-Mg Alloy with Ti Addition

Abstract

The solidification behavior, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of Al-Si-Mg foundry alloy with different Ti additions were investigated in the present study. The solidification behavior of those A357 alloys was analyzed through thermal analysis. The microstructures were examined by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the addition of Ti could refine grains of A357 as-cast alloy due to a good restriction on the grain growth, but Ti could not refine secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS), thus mechanical properties of the A357 as-cast alloy did not improved significantly. After T6 heat treatment, the microstructure with α-Al dendrites with the Al-Si eutectics at interdendritic space was replaced by a homogeneous α-Al matrix with a nonuniform dispersion of discrete, spheroidizing and coarse silicon particles. Hence, compared with the as-cast alloys, both of the strength and ductility of the T6 treated alloys are significantly improved, and an optimal combination of strength and elongation of the A357 alloy can be achieved by the 0.8 wt.% Ti addition after T6 heat treatment.