Investigation of Phase Transformation and Mechanical Properties of A356 Alloy with Cu and Zr Addition during Heat Treatment

Cast A356(Al-Si-Mg) alloys are widely used in automotive and general applications because of their mechanical properties and castability. Al-Si-Mg-(Cu) alloys typically lose their strength above 170 o C due to coarsening of precipitates, which limits their application to components. To maintain their strength at elevated temperature, Al-Si-Mg-(Cu) alloys are modified by adding transitional metals. Several studies have been carried out to evaluate the effect of Zr addition on the high temperature mechanical properties of cast Al-Si alloys because Zr can form thermally stable phases such as Al3Zr. Despite the relative studies on the influence of Cu and Zr on the mechanical properties of cast Al-Si-Mg-(Cu) alloys, investigations of the effect of Zr on the phase transformations and the mechanical properties during heat treatment remains limited. In this study, the effects of added Cu and Zr on the phase transformations and the mechanical performance during heat treatment of A356 cast alloy were investigated. Needle-like and block-like (Al,Si)3(Ti,Zr) dispersoids formed as some Si and Ti replaced Al and Zr in Al3Zr crystal structures were generally observed. Furthermore, with increasing solution treatment time, the size of Zr dispersoids was reduced, and smaller Zr particles were precipitated at the same time, which caused a decrease in the area fraction of the Zr dispersoids. In addition, the metastable L12 structures of Zr dispersoids in Al-Si-Mg-Cu-Zr alloys were transformed into stable D023 during solution heat treatment as the Cu addition accelerated the transformation. Tensile and low-cycle fatigue (LCF) tests were performed to reveal the effects of (Al,Si)3(Ti,Zr) dispersoids on mechanical properties. As a result, elongation at elevated temperature was highly increased, while maintaining strength, according to the increase in solution heat treatment time, which improved low-cycle fatigue properties.