Effect of the Pulsed Magnetic Melt Treatment on Solidification Structure and Mechanics Performance of the Direct-chilling Casting Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni Alloy

doi:10.3901/JME.2024.06.279

Abstract

Abstract: The Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni alloy is used in engine parts manufacturing. The mechanical properties of parts can be improved through the Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni alloy solidification structure refinement. In this work, a newly developed experimental device is used to refine the Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni alloy DC (Direct-chilling) casting structure. The device is set on the launder of the casting platform to treat the alloy melt with the pulsed magnetic field. Besides, the effect of magnetic energy on the formation and proliferation of the clusters in the melt was presented. The result shows that during the pulsed magnetic field melt treatment, the formation work of the clusters decreased due to the magnetic energy, which stimulated the formation of the clusters near the critical size in the melt and facilitated the nucleation during the solidification. The experiment result shows that the size of α-Al and primary Si in the Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni DC-casting billet are decreased by 41.4% and 81.6% after the pulsed magnetic field melt treatment, respectively. Meanwhile, the heat-resisting phases are tiny and evenly spread in the matrix, and the size of the heat-resisting phases are decreased by 21.6%, and the solidification structure is homogenized. Compared to the conventional process, the hardness and tensile strength at room temperature were increased by 34.3% and 10.4%, respectively.

Key words: Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni alloy, cluster theory, grain refinement, direct-chill casting, mechanical properties

CLC Number:

TG142

BAO Xinyu, MA Yonglin, CHENG Qiao, SU Yihui, WANG Jie, XING Shuqing. Effect of the Pulsed Magnetic Melt Treatment on Solidification Structure and Mechanics Performance of the Direct-chilling Casting Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Ni Alloy[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2024, 60(6): 279-286.

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