• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.419-433
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• 2021

Al-Si-Cu alloys benefit from the addition of copper for better hardness and strength through precipitation hardening, which results in remarkably strong alloys. However, the addition of copper expands the solidification range of Al-Si-Cu alloys, and due to this, these alloys become more prone to hot tearing, which is one of the most common and serious fracture phenomena encountered during solidification. The conventional evaluation method of the hot tearing properties of an alloy is a relative and qualitative analysis approach that does not provide quantitative data about this phenomenon. In the present study, the mold itself part of a device developed in Instone et al. was partially modified to obtain more reliable quantitative data pertaining to the hot tearing properties of an Al-Si-Cu casting alloy. To assess the influence of Cu element, four levels of Cu contents were tested (0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 wt.%) in the Al-Si-Cu system alloy and the hot tearing properties were evaluated in each case. As the Cu content was increased, the hot tearing strength decreased to 2.26, 1.53, 1.18, and 1.04 MPa, respectively. At the moment hot tearing occurred, the corresponding solid fraction and solidification rate decreased at the same temperature due to the increase in the solid-liquid coexistence range as the Cu content increased. The morphology of the fracture surfaces was changed from dendrites to dendrites covered with residual liquid, and CuAl₂ phases were observed in the vicinity of hot tearing.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.223-227
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• 2009

The precipitates, hardness, and tensile properties of Al-6.2Si-2.9Cu AC2B alloy were investigated with respect to solution treatment time at $500^{\circ}C$. $Al(Cu)-Al_2Cu$ eutectic, Si, ${\theta}-(Al_2Cu)$, and $Q-(Al_5Cu_2Mg_8Si_6)$ phases were observed in the as-cast specimen. With increasing the solution treatment time at $500^{\circ}C$, the $Al(Cu)-Al_2Cu$ eutectic and ${\theta}-(Al_2Cu)$ phases were gradually reduced and finally almost disappeared in 5 h. The mechanical properties, such as hardness, tensile strength, and elongation, were improved with solution treatment time until about 5 h due to the dissolution of the $Al_2Cu$ particles. With further holding time, the mechanical properties did not change much. The solution treated specimens for over 5 h at $500^{\circ}C$ exhibit almost the same tensile properties even after aging at $250^{\circ}C$ for 3.5 h. Accordingly, the optimal solution treatment condition of the Al-Si-Cu AC2B alloy is considered to be 5 h at $500^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.248-255
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• 2010

The effect of various alloying elements and melt treatment on the microstructural control of Al-Sn metallic bearing alloy was investigated. The thickness of tin film crystallized around primary aluminum decreased with the addition of 5% Cu in Al-Sn alloy, with tin particles being reduced in size by intervening the Ostwald ripening. With the addition of Si in Al-10%Sn alloy, the tin particles were crystallized with eutectic silicon, resulting in uniform distribution of tin particles. With the addition of Cu and Si in Al-Sn alloy, both the tensile strength and yield strength increased, with the increasing rate of yield strength being less than that of tensile strength. Although the Al-10%Sn-7%Si alloy has similar tensile strength compared with Al-10%Sn-5%Cu, the former showed superior abrasion resistance, resulting from preventing the tin particles from movement to the abrasion surface.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.135-143
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• 2020

Low-cost alloying elements were added to a modified Al-6.5Si alloy and its microstructure, tensile and impact toughness properties were investigated. The alloying elements added were Mg, Zn, and Cu, and two kinds of alloy A (Mg:0.5, Zn:1, Cu:1.5 wt.%) and alloy B (Mg:2, Zn:1.5, Cu:2 wt.%) were prepared. In the as-cast Al-6.5Si alloys, Si phases were distributed at the dendrite interfaces, and Al₂Cu, Mg₂Si, Al₆ (Fe,Mn) and Al₅ (Fe,Mn)Si precipitates were also observed. The size and fraction of casting defects were measured to be higher for alloy A than for alloy B. The secondary dendrite arm spacing of alloy B was finer than that of alloy A. It was confirmed by the JMatPro S/W that the cooling rate of alloy B could be more rapid than alloy A. The alloy B had higher hardness and strength compared to the values of alloy A. However, the alloy A showed better impact toughness than alloy B. Based on the above results, the deformation mechanism of Al-6.5Si alloy and the improving method for mechanical properties were also discussed.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.528-534
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• 2021

To confirm effects of natural and artificial aging of precipitate on thermal diffusivity and hardness, the studied Al-Mg-Si alloy were manufactured by gravity casting method with 0.6 wt% and 1.0 wt% additional Cu element. The samples were used for measuring thermal diffusivity and hardness. The addition of Cu, promoted by intermediates such as Q'' and θ'' phases, contributing to the improvement of hardness and high-temperature thermal diffusivity. The natural aging decreased the hardness of the Al-Mg-Si-Cu alloys with increasing time, but did not affect the thermal diffusivity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.102-108
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to develop the mechanical properties of an AlSiCu aluminum alloy using the two-step solution heat treatment. The microstructure of the gravity casting specimen represents a typical dendrite structure with a secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of 40 um. In addition to the Al matrix, a large amount of coarsen eutectic Si phase, $Al_2Cu$ intermetallic phase, and Fe-rich phases is generated. The eutectic Si phases are fragmented and globularized with the solution heat treatment. The $Al_2Cu$ intermetallic phase is also resolutionized into the Al matrix. The $2^{nd}$ solution temperature at $525^{\circ}C$ may be an optimal condition to enhance the mechanical properties of the AlSiCu aluminum alloy.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2021

In the compound casting between the aluminum alloy and the cast iron, the iron component may be dissolved from the cast iron during the process and mixed into the aluminum melt, thereby forming various iron-containing intermetallic compounds and significantly deteriorating the tensile properties of the aluminum alloy. On the other hand, unlike Fe, which is added as an impurity, Cu is added to improve the mechanical properties of the aluminum alloy. In this study, the change in microstructure and tensile properties of aluminum alloys due to the addition of Fe and Cu was investigated. A large amount of iron-containing compounds such as coarse Al₅FeSi phases were formed when the iron content was 1% or more, and the tensile properties were significantly reduced. In the case of the aluminum alloy to which Cu was added, an Al₂Cu phase was additionally formed and the tensile strength was clearly improved.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.538-542
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• 2014

Microstructural and mechanical characteristics of Al-6Si-2Cu alloy for lightweight automotive parts were investigated. The test specimens were prepared by gravity casting process. Solution heat treatments were applied to as-cast alloys to improve mechanical properties. The microstructure of the gravity casting specimen presents a typical dendrite structure, having a secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of $37{\mu}m$. In addition to the Al matrix, a large amount of coarsened eutectic Si, $Al_2Cu$ intermetallic phase, and Fe-rich phases were identified. After solution heat treatment, single-step solution heat treatments were found to considerably improve the spheroidization of the eutectic Si phase. Two-step solution treatments gave rise to a much improved spheroidization. The mechanical properties of the two-step solution heat treated alloy have been shown to lead to higher values of properties such as tensile strength and microhardness. Consequentially, the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of Al alloy have been successfully characterized and are available for use with other basic data for the development of lightweight automotive parts.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.249-257
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• 2006

The effects of alloying element and the condition of heat-treatment on the strength of squeeze-cast Al-3.0 wt%Si alloy were investigated. The strength of the alloy without grain refinement was increased with increase Cu content upto 3.0 wt% and rather decreased beyond that. The tensile strength of the alloy with grain refinement increased with Cu content upto 3.0 wt% and not changed beyond that. The strength of the alloy without grain refinement increased with the Mg content. The tensile strength with grain refinement increased with the Mg content upto 0.50 wt% and then decreased beyond that. The strength of the grain refined alloy increased by individual and simultaneous additions of Cu and Mg and the maximum strength was obtained with Al-3.0 wt%Si-4.5 wt%Cu-0.50 wt%Mg alloy. The optimum heat-treatment condition for this alloy was obtained.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.556-564
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• 1996

Variation of shape and size of solid particles and solute redistribution in Mg-9wt.%Al, AI-4.5wt.% Cu, and AI-7wt.%Si alloys were investigated when they were heated to semi-solid temperatures and held without stirring. In the case of Mg-9wt.% Al and Al-4.5wt.%Cu alloys, the polygonal shaped solid particles were agglomerated with non-uniform distribution, and there were no disappearance of the solid/solid boundary until the end of melting. But in the case of an Al-7wt.%Si alloys, two or three spherical shaped particles were coalesced or separated individually, and the coalesced particles had no solid/solid interface on the contrary to the prevous case. The maximum size of solid particles during isothermal heating at high temperature was smaller than that at lower temperature, but the time required to reach the maximum size at high temperature was shorter than that at lower temperature. The concentrations of main solute atom whose distribution coefficient is lower than 1, decreased in the primary solid particles as the liquid fraction increased, and the gradient of solute concentration was steeper in Mg-9wt.%Al alloy and Al-4.5wt.%Cu alloy than that of Al-7wt.%Si alloy.