11. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
Effect of Co and Ni Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties at Room and Elevated Temperature of an Al–7%Si Alloy
- 2018
-
In: International Journal of metalcasting. - : Springer. - 1939-5981 .- 2163-3193. ; 12:3, s. 434-440
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increasing environmental demands are forcing the automotive industry to reduce vehicle emissions by producing more light-weight and fuel efficient vehicles. Al–Si alloys are commonly used in automotive applications because of excellent castability, high thermal conductivity, good wear properties and high strength-to-weight ratio. However, most of the aluminium alloys on the market exhibit significantly reduced strength at temperatures above 200 °C. This paper presents results of a study of the effects of Co and Ni in a hypoeutectic Al–Si alloy on microstructure and mechanical properties at room and elevated temperature. Tensile test specimens with microstructures comparable to those obtained in high-pressure die casting, i.e. SDAS ~ 10 µm, were produced by directional solidification in a Bridgman furnace. The results show an improvement in tensile properties up to 230 °C.
|
|
12. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
On the combined effects of surface quality and pore size on the fatigue life of Al–7Si–3Cu–Mg alloy castings
- 2023
-
In: Materials Science & Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 0921-5093 .- 1873-4936. ; 885
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study has aimed to determine the effects of surface quality and pore size, obtained by different levels of hydrogen content of the liquid metal, on the fatigue behavior of an Al–7%Si–3%Cu–Mg casting alloy. Three surface conditions have been studied: as-cast rough, as-cast smooth, and standard machined and polished surface. The S–N curves have shown that surface roughness and hydrogen content individually impact fatigue strength. Surprisingly, the fatigue strength of machined and polished samples, which aligns with standard testing practices, is significantly reduced, compared to other conditions. Fatigue cracks have been observed to initiate at the pores just below the as-cast surface or on the machined surfaces. In all cases, pores have been observed to be surrounded by bifilms. Moreover, hydrogen content and roughness of the as-cast surface have been found to interact to determine the fatigue performance. These findings necessitate a re-evaluation of fatigue testing procedures for cast aluminum components.
|
|
13. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
On the Effectiveness of Rotary Degassing of Recycled Al-Si Alloy Melts : The Effect on Melt Quality and Energy Consumption for Melt Preparation
- 2023
-
In: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 15:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effectiveness of rotary degassing on the defect formation and mechanical properties of the final casting of aluminium alloy EN AC 46000 was investigated, along with its impact on the energy consumption in the casting furnace. In the melt preparation prior to casting, the molten metal is usually transported from the melting furnace to the casting furnace with rotary degassing as a cleaning procedure. Under the conditions of this specific study, negligible degradation was observed in the mechanical properties of the final cast component in an aluminium EN AC 46000 alloy after removing the rotary degassing step in the process. Furthermore, removing the rotary degassing step led to a reduced temperature drop in the melt, thus minimizing the need for reheating (energy consumption) by up to 75% in the casting furnace. The reduced energy consumption was up to 124,000 kWh in yearly production in a 1500 kg casting furnace. The environmental impact showed a similar to 1500 kg reduction in CO2 for one 1500 kg electrical casting furnace in a year.
|
|
14. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
On the secondary cracks during crack propagation in an Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy : An in-situ study
- 2023
-
In: Materials Characterization. - : Elsevier. - 1044-5803 .- 1873-4189. ; 203
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During in situ cyclic testing of hot isostatically pressed and heat-treated Al-5Si-0.5 Mg-1Cu alloy castings, cracks were observed to open up in places far away from the area of stress concentration. Cyclic testing was interrupted to assess these cracks. Analysis showed that these cracks originated from oxide bifilms that were entrained in the liquid state. Moreover, Si and Fe-rich intermetallics were observed to have precipitated on these bifilms. These finding makes it necessary to re-evaluate how damage is interpreted in mechanical studies. Entrainment damage, which takes place in the liquid state, may remain invisible in non-destructive inspection and can significantly affect fatigue properties when bifilms open up under low tensile stresses and present the propagating crack a path of low resistance during propagation.
|
|
15. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
Prototyping of a high pressure die cast al-si alloy using plaster mold casting to replicate corresponding mechanical properties
- 2019
-
In: Minerals, Metals and Materials Series. - Cham : Springer. - 9783030058630 - 9783030058647 ; , s. 435-442
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Prototyping prior high pressure die casting (HPDC) is used for product/mold design optimization. Plaster mold casting is a cost-efficient prototyping technique providing good surface quality and dimension accuracy, similar to HPDC components. However, the corresponding mechanical properties of a component produced with these two methods are diverging significantly, mainly due to differences in the cooling rate. This work presents a procedure to optimize the plaster mold casting for prototyping to replicate mechanical properties of a commonly used Al-Si alloy (A380). Two commercial alloys with compositions close to the A380 alloy (A356.0 and A360.2) were used. Yield strength was considered as the main design criteria, thus the target mechanical property. Tensile testing results showed that with an optimized T6 heat treatment, not only the yield strength, but also ultimate tensile strength and elongation correspond well to the properties in the HPDC component.
|
|
16. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
The complex interaction between microstructural features and crack evolution during cyclic testing in heat-treated Al–Si–Mg–Cu cast alloys
- 2021
-
In: Materials Science & Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 0921-5093 .- 1873-4936. ; 825
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The study aimed to investigate crack initiation and propagation at the micro-scale in heat-treated Al–7Si–Mg cast alloys with different copper (Cu) contents. In-situ cyclic testing in a scanning electron microscope coupled with electron back-scattered diffraction and digital image correlation was used to evaluate the complex interaction between the crack path and the microstructural features. The three-nearest-neighbour distance of secondary particles was a new tool to describe the crack propagation in the alloys. The amount of Cu retained in the α-Al matrix after heat treatment increased with the Cu content in the alloy and enhanced the strength with a slight decrease in elongation. During cyclic testing, the two-dimensional (2D) crack path appeared with a mixed propagation, both trans- and inter-granular, regardless of the Cu content of the alloy. On fracture surfaces, multiple crack initiation points were detected along the thickness of the samples. The debonding of silicon (Si) particles took place during crack propagation in the Cu-free alloy, while cracking of Si particles and intermetallic phases occurred in the alloy with 3.2 wt% Cu. Three-dimensional tomography using focused ion beam revealed that the improved strength of the α-Al matrix changes the number of cracked particles ahead of the propagating crack with Cu concentration above 1.5 wt%.
|
|
17. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni
(author)
-
The effect of microstructural features, defects and surface quality on the fatigue performance in Al-Si-Mg Cast alloys
- 2023
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Global warming is driving industry to manufacture lighter components to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Promising candidates for achieving this are aluminium-silicon (Al-Si) cast alloys, which offer a high weight-to-strength ratio, excellent corrosion resistance, and good castability. However, understanding variations in the mechanical properties of these alloys is crucial to producing high-performance parts for critical applications. Defects and oxides are the primary reasons cast components in fatigue applications are rejected, as they negatively impact mechanical properties.A comprehensive understanding of the correlation between fatigue performance and parameters such as the α-aluminium matrix, Al-Si eutectic, surface roughness, porosities, hydrogen content, oxides, and intermetallic phases in Al-Si castings has not been reached.The research presented in this thesis used state-of-the-art experimental techniques to investigate the mechanical properties and crack-initiation and propagation behaviour of Al-Si-Mg cast alloy under cyclic loading. In-situ cyclic testing was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), digital image correlation (DIC), and focused ion beam (FIB) milling. These techniques enabled a comprehensive study of parameters affecting fatigue performance, including hydrogen content, surface roughness, oxides, and intermetallic phases. More specifically, we investigated the effect of melt quality, copper (Cu) content, oxide bifilms, surface quality, and porosity.The increased Cu concentration in heat-treated Al-Si alloys increased the amount of intermetallic phases, which affected the cracking behaviour. Furthermore, oxide bifilms were detected at crack-initiation sites, even in regions far away from the highly strained areas. Si- and Iron (Fe)-rich intermetallics were observed to have precipitated on these bifilms. Due to their very small size, these oxides are generally not detected by non-destructive inspections, but affect mechanical properties because they appear to open at relatively low tensile stresses. Finally, Al-Si alloy casting skins showed an interesting effect in terms of improving fatigue performance, highlighting the negative effect of surface polishing for such alloys.
|
|
18. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
The effect of SI content on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Si alloy
- 2016
-
In: La Metallurgia Italiana. - Milano : Associazione Italiana di Metallurgia. - 0026-0843. ; 108:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Al-Si alloys are the most popular casting alloys due to their excellent castability combined with high strengthto-weight ratio. This paper investigates the role of Si content in the range of 6.5 wt. % to 14.4 wt. % on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Si-Mg casting alloys. All alloys were modified with 90-150 ppm Sr. No grain refiner was added. The samples were produced by directional solidification providing a microstructure that corresponds to microstructures found in die castings. From the phase diagram and coupled zone, increasing the Si level up to 14.4 wt. % is expected to start a competition between formation of α- dendrites and a fully eutectic microstructure. However, it is known that Sr-modification shifts the eutectic to higher Si contents. For the lower Si contents, the microstructure of the samples consisted of α-dendrites and a modified Al-Si eutectic. At 12.4 wt. % Si and above, a cellular eutectic microstructure was observed. No primary Si was observed even at 14.4 wt. % Si. The mechanical properties in terms of yield and tensile strength did not vary remarkably as a function of the Si level unlike the elongation to failure that dropped from 12 % at 6.5 wt. % Si to nearly 6 % at 14.4 wt. % Si; but still the material is exhibiting an elongation to failure that is far higher than normally expected.
|
|
19. |
|
|
20. |
- Bogdanoff, Toni, et al.
(author)
-
The impact of HIP process and heat treatment on the mechanical behavior of an Al-Si-Mg alloy component
- 2023
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Castings generally contain pores and defects that can have a detrimental impact on mechanical properties. The hot isostatic pressing (HIP) process is usually applied to reduce internal porosities, which improves the mechanical properties because of the closed porosities. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of the HIP process on the mechanical properties of sand casting A356 aluminum alloys. This investigation was performed in collaboration with Unnaryd Modell, Quintus Technologies, and IAC Ankarsrum. Investigation of the complex interaction between the microstructural features on mechanical properties before and after the HIP process was examined using computed tomography scanning, in-situ cyclic testing, and scanning electron microscope. In the absence of large defects, the fatigue performance was improved. However, a significant variation in the result was found between the different conditions, whereas the coarser microstructure with larger porosities before the HIP process showed decreased ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure. The samples tested under high cycle fatigue showed a reduced fatigue propagation zone in that the coarser microstructure. Moreover, large cleavage areas containing oxides in the fracture surfaces indicated that the HIP process closes all the porosities, but the oxide films are not creating a strong bonding. Furthermore, the samples tested under low cycle fatigue showed a difference in the crack propagation, whereas the coarser microstructure showed large cracks opened up away from the notch that assists the propagation leading to reduced fatigue life.
|
|