The Influence of Nickel Additions to Liquid A359 on Hot-Dip Aluminizing of Solid S45C Steel

Abstract

The properties of hot-dipping A359 aluminum alloys can be improved by strategically placing the S45C steel inserts to locally improve properties such as oxidation and corrosion resistance, but soft A359 aluminum alloy can be easily worn out and thus decreased the S45C steel’s reliability. In this study, we have been added 20 wt.%Ni to increases the hardness of the A359 aluminum alloy, then hot dipped the S45C steel into the molten A359-20 wt.%Ni aluminum alloy for 1 min and then heat treated at 400-600 °C. The effect of nickel on the interface characteristic (including kinetic and shear strengths of interface between the S45C steel and aluminum alloy) and the surface glossiness and wear property of the A359-Ni aluminum alloy is also discussed. The experimental results show that the Fe2Al5 intermetallic compound thus the activation energy of the compound formation in the A359-20 wt.%Ni aluminum alloy, and its thickness increased with an increase in heating temperature. Nickel hindered formation of the Fe2Al5 intermetallic compound thus the activation energy of the compound formation in the A359-20 wt.%Ni aluminum alloy (0.413 eV) is larger than A359 aluminum alloy. The nickel could increase the surface glossiness and anti-wear of the hot-dipped coating layer, but they would not deteriorate the interface shear strength.