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Title: Comparative evaluation of cast aluminum alloys for automotive cylinder heads: Part I Microstructure evolution

Journal Article · · Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A, Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [2]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Indian Inst. of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur (India)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  3. Nemak, Garza Garcia, N.L. (Mexico)

The present study stages a comparative evaluation of microstructure and associated mechanical and thermal response for common cast aluminum alloys that are used for manufacturing automotive cylinder heads. The systems considered are Al-Cu (206-T6), Al-Si-Cu (319-T7), and Al-Si (356-T6, A356-T6, and A356 + 0.5Cu-T6). The focus of the present manuscript is on the evaluation of microstructure at various length scales after aging, while the second manuscript will deal with the mechanical and thermal response of these alloys due to short-term (aging) and long-term (pre-conditioning) heat treatments. At the grain-scale, the Al-Cu alloy possessed an equiaxed microstructure as opposed to the dendritic structure for the Al-Si-Cu or Al-Si alloys which is related to the individual solidification conditions for these alloy systems. The composition and morphology of intermetallic precipitates within the grain and at the grain/dendritic boundary are dictated by the alloy chemistry, solidification, and heat treatment conditions. At the nanoscale, these alloys contain various metastable strengthening precipitates (GPI and θ''θ'' in Al-Cu alloy, θ'θ' in Al-Si-Cu alloy, and β'β' in Al-Si alloys) with varying size, morphology, coherency, and thermal stability.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1360030
Journal Information:
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions. A, Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science, Vol. 48, Issue 5; ISSN 1073-5623
Publisher:
ASM InternationalCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 42 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

Machine Learning for Thermal Transport Analysis of Aluminum Alloys with Precipitate Morphology journal January 2019
Optimisation of heat treatment of Al–Cu–(Mg–Ag) cast alloys journal August 2019
Microstructure and Impression Creep Behavior of Al–7Si–0.3Mg Alloy with Zr Addition journal February 2020
Impression creep characterization of cast Al–7Si–0.3Mg alloy journal June 2019

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