Secondary-cast aluminum alloys have increasing industrial applications. Their biggest deficiency is their impurity content, especially Fe, which has low solubility in Al and almost all the content creates intermetallic phases. This work examines the effect of higher Fe content on the microstructure and properties of A356.0 alloy. At the same time, no other possibility existed to affecting the brittleness of the formation of the β phases. The calculation of Fe_crit, ratio of Mn/Fe, quantitative and computed tomography analysis of porosity and Fe plate-like phases, measurement of mechanical and fatigue properties, and fractography analysis were performed in this study. The results show that gravity die casting into a sand mold, and the non-usage of Mn addition or heat treatment, do not have a negative effect on increasing the size of the Fe-rich plate-like phases. The longest Fe-rich phases have limited the pore growth and ratios, but their higher thickness led to greater porosity formation. The mechanical and fatigue properties correlate with the Fe_crit level and the highest were for the experimental alloy with 0.454 wt.% of Fe. The experimental results confirmed the fact that if the Fe plate-like phases have a length of up to 50 µm, the fatigue properties depend more on the size of porosity. If the length of the Fe needles is more than 50 µm, then the properties are mainly affected by the length of these Fe phases.

A polycrystalline alpha-beta TiAl6V4 alloy in the annealed condition was used for the three-point bending fatigue test at frequencyf∼100 Hz. The static preloadF_stat. = −15 kN and variable dynamic forceF_dyn. = −7 kN to −13.5 kN were set as fatigue test loading parameters. The fatigue life S-N curve presented the stress amplitudeσ_aas a function of a number of cycles to fractureN_f. A limiting number of cycles to run out of 2.0 × 10⁷cycles were chosen for the 3-point fatigue tests of rectangular specimens. In addition, the Smith diagram was used to predict the fatigue life. The alpha lamellae width has a significant influence on fatigue life. It is assumed that the increasing width of alpha lamellae decreases fatigue life. A comparison of fatigue results with given alpha lamellae width in our material to the results of other researchers was performed. The SEM fractography was performed with an accent to reveal the initiation sites of crack at low and high load stresses and mechanism of crack propagation for the fatigue part of fracture.

Production of primary aluminium is energetically enormously expensive. The use of secondary (recycled) aluminium, has therefore a high potential to save money and energy while reducing the negative environmental impact of aluminium production. Although the properties of secondary aluminium alloys are generally comparable to those of primary aluminium alloys, the increased Fe content can lead to a significant reduction in the corrosion resistance of these alloys. Secondary (recycled) AlSi7Mg0.3 cast alloy with different iron contents (0.123, 0.454, 0.679 and 1.209 wt. %) in the as-cast and after heat treatment (T6) condition was investigated. The quantitative analysis was focused on the evaluation of the Fe-phases, especially the needle-like Al 5 FeSi phase. The corrosion resistance was measured by a rapid corrosion test (AUDI test). The corrosion damage of the surface was observed macroscopically. The results show that Fe content higher than 0.454 % has no significant effect on the amount and size of needle-like phases of Al 5 FeSi. The corrosion resistance is mainly influenced by the size and length of the Al 5 FeSi phases. Increased Fe content decreases the corrosion resistance of AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy and accelerates the initiation of corrosion.

The article will be focused on monitoring the influence of the structure on the fatigue properties of aluminium alloys for the casting of type Al-Mg, especially EN AC 51200 and EN AC 51500. These alloys were selected on the basis of the chemic...

The application of Al-Si alloy castings has gradually increased in many mechanical components in the last years, especially for cars and rail vehicles, thanks to the great potential of these materials as replacements for ferrous alloys. Contro...