With the rapid expansion of battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) in the automotive industry, research interest in lightweight Al alloys as well as their casting processes and applications has increased considerably. The substitution of castable aluminum alloys with superior strengths and electrical conductivity for copper reduces the weight and size of electric induction motors, and improves the energy efficiency and driving range of the BEVs. The present article was intended to give a general introduction into the common cast Al aluminum alloys and their relevant processes, as well as to motivate the development of high strength and conductive Al alloys for the practical realization of Al applications in the motors of the BEVs. A number of cast alloy systems containing Cu, Si, Ni, Mg, Fe, and Ti were evaluated, in comparison to nanostructured wrought Al alloys. The conventional casting processes suitable for Al alloys, high pressure die casting, squeeze casting, and sand casting were described. Strengthening mechanisms including solid solution strengthening, precipitation strengthening, dislocation accumulation strengthening, and grain boundary strengthening were presented. The phenomenon of electrical conduction for Al alloys was outlined. The mechanical properties and electrical properties of the recently developed Al alloys for casting and deformation processes were comprehensively listed and critically reviewed in association with microstructural characteristics.

In high-speed steel, carbides are essential phase constituents, which have a direct impact on engineering performance and qualities of high-speed steel. The formation, morphology, and distribution of carbides are dictated by alloying elements. In this paper, various types of carbides in high-speed steel are presented. The effects of different alloying elements such as C, W, Mo, Cr, and V on the formation of carbides in high-speed steel are discussed. Research progresses on carbide improvement by microalloying elements such as N, B, Mg, and rare earth (RE) elements are reviewed. It is reported that Cr promotes the precipitation of M₂C, N enhances the formation of fibrous M₂C, Mg effectively shatters the large-size carbide grid, Nb refines granular carbide MC, and rare earth elements encourage the formation of M₆C, resulting in irregular M₂C lamellae. The incorporation of microalloying elements improves the distribution and size of carbides and also refines the solidification structure of high-speed steel.

The natural brittleness of oxide ceramics heavily inhibits their more extensive applications. In present research, a highly flexible Al₂O₃/Al/Al₂O₃ hybrid composite was fabricated by employing plasma electrolysis oxidation to in situ grow alumina layers on Al foil, in which an outside layer of nanostructured polycrystalline oxide ceramic was composed of nanosized grains with the size of around 17 nm. Due to shear band formation, nanosized circle bubbles prolonging the crack path, grain rotation, and deformation, the fabricated Al₂O₃/Al/Al₂O₃ hybrid composite contains no observable cracks even after being bent on a cylindrical bar with a curvature of 1.5 mm. The composite exhibits alumina stiffness at the elastic stage and aluminum ductility during plastic deformation, which provides high flexibility with the well‐integrated properties of the components. In a synergistic interaction, the alumina on the outside exhibited a strain of 0.33% at room temperature, which was higher than optimum value of 0.25% presented by reported most flexible oxide ceramics. With the unique characteristics and properties, the Al₂O₃/Al/Al₂O₃ composite demonstrates a great potential for various engineering applications.

A two-dimensional model has been developed to simulate heat transfer and solidification phenomena of squeeze cast magnesium alloy (AZ91D). The model was based on the control-volume finite-difference approach and on the enthalpy method. The computation was carried out to understand the effect of varying processing parameters, such as applied pressure and die temperatures, on the solidification and cooling behaviours of AZ91D. The model computed the temperature distributions, the cooling curves, the shape and position of the phase front and total solidification time of a cylindrical squeeze casting. The predicted results show that high applied pressures and low die temperatures result in a high heat transfer across the casting–die interface, and consequently solidification and cooling rates increase. The comparison indicates that the predicted results are in close agreement with the existing experimental data.