Unlocking Sustainability Potentials in Heat Treatment Processes

Energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, environmental impact levels, and the availability of materials as well as their sustainable usage are all topics of high current interest. The energy intensive processes of casting production such as heat treatment are particularly affected by the pursuit of sustainability. It has been estimated that up to 20% of the total energy demand in a non-ferrous foundry is required to provide the heat energy necessary during heat treatment processes. This paper addresses the application-oriented development of a sustainable configuration of the heat treatment process at the example of the aluminium-casting alloy A356 (AlSi7Mg0.3). Based on calculations of the physically necessary operating modes and under investigation of previous parameter recommendations, experimental studies were carried out to investigate the effects of various heat treatment parameters on the ultimate mechanical properties of the alloy. Since the achievable mechanical properties of the finished casting are decisive, the static and dynamic casting properties resulting from the heat treatment with optimized process parameters were compared with those of conventional process control. Significant optimization potential is shown for reducing the treatment time and thus lowering the energy consumption.

Influence of Surface Finish and Porosity on the Fatigue behaviour of A356 Aluminium Casting Alloy

In casting parts, due to the manufacturing process, the presence of defects such as porosity, inclusions and oxide films is unavoidable. All these irregularities have a negative effect on the component performance. Several works have demonstrated that, among them, porosity is especially detrimental to the fatigue properties. As most fatigue failures nucleate at the surface of a material, casting defects at or near the surface and surface roughness become an extremely important factor in determining the fatigue strength of cast components. Very little research has been conducted into the influence of both surface quality and porosity on the fatigue behaviour of aluminium castings parts. In the present work, the effects of two different surface qualities (machined and as-cast) on fatigue behaviour of an A356 casting alloy were studied. The S-N curves obtained showed that the cast surface had higher fatigue strength than the machined one. The failure in cast specimens initiated predominantly from valleys of the rough surface near pores or inclusions. On the other hand, in machined surfaces, the cracks initiated directly from surface pores. Thus, the improvement in fatigue life was attributed to a longer crack “initiation” period.

Correlation between Aging Effects and High Temperature Mechanical Properties of the Unmodified A356 Foundry Aluminium Alloy

In this study, the effect of aging on the mechanical properties of unmodified A356 aluminium casting alloy with trace additions of Ni or V was investigated. Trace elements were added in concentrations of 600 and 1000 ppm of Ni and V, respectively. Samples from sand and permanent mould castings in as cast and T6 heat-treated conditions were tested. Tensile tests were performed at both room and high temperature (235 °C). Taking into account the results from both testing conditions, Vickers hardness was measured in order to endorse the hypothesis of artificial aging occurring during high temperature tensile tests. In order to study this effect, a series of specimens was aged at 235 °C for different aging times, and aging curves were plotted. The occurrence of static and dynamic aging was evaluated by comparing hardness values of tensile specimens and aged samples, particularly in the range of 5-20 min, as this range corresponds to the time necessary for pre-heating and testing of the tensile samples. A basic correlation between tensile strength and hardness is also given.

Quality Index of the AlSi7Mg0.3 Aluminium Casting Alloy Depending on the Heat Treatment Parameters

Issues connected with high quality casting alloys are important for responsible construction elements working in hard conditions. Traditionally, the quality of aluminium casting alloy refers to such microstructure properties as the presence of inclusions and intermetallic phases or porosity. At present, in most cases, Quality index refers to the level of mechanical properties – especially strength parameters, e.g.: UTS, YS, HB, E (Young’s Modulus), K1c (stress intensity factor). Quality indexes are often presented as a function of density. However, generally it is known, that operating durability of construction elements depends both on the strength and plastic of the material. Therefore, for several years now, in specialist literature, the concept of quality index (QI) was present, combines these two important qualities of construction material. The work presents the results of QI research for casting hypoeutectic silumin type EN AC-42100 (EN AC-AlSi7Mg0.3), depending on different variants of heat treatment, including jet cooling during solution treatment.

Quality Evaluation of Remelted A356 Scraps

A356 is one of the widely used aluminium casting alloy that has been used in both sand and die casting processes. Large amounts of scrap metal can be generated from the runner systems and feeders. In addition, chips are generated in the machined parts. The surface area with regard to weight of chips is so high that it makes these scraps difficult to melt. Although there are several techniques evolved to remedy this problem, yet the problem lies in the quality of the recycled raw material. Since recycling of these scrap is quite important due to the advantages like energy saving and cost reduction in the final product, in this work, the recycling efficiency and casting quality were investigated. Three types of charges were prepared for casting: %100 primary ingot, %100 scrap aluminium and fifty-fifty scrap aluminium and primary ingot mixture were used. Melt quality was determined by calculating bifilm index by using reduced pressure test. Tensile test samples were produced by casting both from sand and die moulds. Relationship between bifilm index and tensile strength were determined as an indication of correlation of melt quality. It was found that untreated chips decrease the casting quality significantly. Therefore, prior to charging the chips into the furnace for melting, a series of cleaning processes has to be used in order to achieve good quality products.