Effect of Transition Metal Elements on High-Temperature Properties of Al–Si–Cu–Mg Alloys

Abstract

In the present work, we studied the effects of transition metal elements on microstructure evolution and high-temperature mechanical properties via the preparation of new modified alloys with micro-additions of Cr, Ti, V, Zr, Mo, and Mn to address the poor high-temperature performance of Al–Si–Cu–Mg alloys for automotive engines. The results show that the addition of transition metal elements formed a variety of new intermetallic phases that were stable at high temperatures, such as (AlSi)3(TiVZr), (AlSi)3Ti, (AlSi)3(CrVTi), Al74Si6Mn4Cr2Fe, Al85Si5Mn2Mo2CrFe, Al0.78Fe4.8Mn0.27Mo4.15Si2, (AlSi)2(CrVTi)Mo, and Al13(MoCrVTi)4Si4, and these phases evidently improved the ultimate high-temperature tensile strength and yield strength. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of the modified alloy increased by 17.49% and 31.65% when the test temperature increased to 240 °C, respectively, and by 71.28% and 74.73% when the test temperature increased to 300 °C, respectively. The fundamental reason for this change is that the intermetallic phase hinders the expansion of cracks, which can exist stably at high temperatures. When a crack extends to the intermetallic phases, it will break along with the intermetallic phases or propagate along the morphological edge of the intermetallic phases.

Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

“…as a result, car manufacturers are therefore forced to reduce the weight of individual components while maintaining (or even enhancing) their utility properties. This approach requires close cooperation between automotive manufacturers and research centres in order to develop new types or aluminum alloys, or to substantially improve the alloys used so far [4][5][6][7][8][9].…”