Metal Alloys: Fusion of the Cutting Edge Research Tools with Conventional Metal Study

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Mechanical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 12345

Special Issue Editor

Department of Ocean Advanced Materials Convergence Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan 49112, Korea
Interests: material characterization; mechanical properties; microstructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In accordance with the global economic situation and environmentally friendly demands, the demand for aluminum has been on the rise in various industrial fields such as automobiles, ships, and aviation. The die-casting process is a representative processing technology of aluminum and applies to parts with excellent mechanical properties and complex shapes, so it accounts for more than 50% of the production rate in aluminum alloy castings, and other aluminum processes, including sand casting and mold casting, it shows a relatively higher potential growth potential than other processes. However, die casting has a greater amount of air-containing flow compared to other casting processes, making it difficult to discharge gas and the probability of defects due to various causes such as pores generated in the process and temperature imbalance during solidification. This Special Issue will share research related to the scientific approach for securing the reliability of such aluminum die-casting products, and, in particular, research related to artificial intelligence and simulation research that has been confirmed as empirical research for mechanism. It will also share the latest results on the characterization, and applications of aluminum alloy materials for the reliability of a die-cast product. Researchers are very welcome to submit their most interesting perspectives, reviews, and original works providing novel insights regarding this material science research field.

Dr. Eunkyung Lee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Die-casting
  • Aluminum alloys
  • Characterization
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Smart factory
  • Microstructure
  • Simulation
  • Metals
  • Mechanical properties.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 5253 KiB  
Article
Effects of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Hardness of A356 (AlSi7Mg0.3) Manufactured by Vertical Centrifugal Casting
by Wonho Kim, Kyungsu Jang, Changwook Ji and Eunkyung Lee
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(23), 11572; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app112311572 - 06 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2725
Abstract
The A356 alloy has been widely used in automotive components, such as wheels and brake disks, because it is an excellent lightweight material with high corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties. Recently, to reduce the weight of brake disks, the Fe-A356 hybrid brake [...] Read more.
The A356 alloy has been widely used in automotive components, such as wheels and brake disks, because it is an excellent lightweight material with high corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties. Recently, to reduce the weight of brake disks, the Fe-A356 hybrid brake disk has been suggested. Because brake disk quality is directly related to driving safety, the T4/T6 heat treatment of centrifugally cast A356 alloys were performed to enhance the mechanical properties and reduce micro-segregation. The solid-solution heat treatment followed by annealing caused the formation of Mg-rich intermetallic compounds on the grain boundaries of the Al matrix, decreasing the average hardness of the alloys by 13 HV. In contrast, the solid solution followed by water quenching (T4) reduced the area fractions of the intermetallic compounds and increased the average hardness by 11 HV. The T6 heat-treated A356 alloys, which were influenced by the formation of the Guinier–Preston zone exhibited a relatively higher average hardness, by 18 HV, compared to T4 heat-treated A356 alloys. Full article
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9 pages, 5095 KiB  
Article
Microstructure and Wear Behavior of TiC/AISI 1020 Metal Matrix Composites Produced by Liquid Pressing Infiltration
by Heejeong Kim, Jungyu Park, Sangmin Shin, Seungchan Cho, Junghwan Kim, Dong-Su Bae and Ilguk Jo
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(20), 9682; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11209682 - 17 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1391
Abstract
A metal matrix composite was developed through a unique liquid pressing infiltration process to study the wear mechanism of a TiC reinforced AISI 1020 steel matrix. The microstructure, hardness, and wear behaviors of the TiC/AISI 1020 composite were compared with commercial AISI 52100 [...] Read more.
A metal matrix composite was developed through a unique liquid pressing infiltration process to study the wear mechanism of a TiC reinforced AISI 1020 steel matrix. The microstructure, hardness, and wear behaviors of the TiC/AISI 1020 composite were compared with commercial AISI 52100 bearing steel. Microstructural analysis showed that there were no defects, such as pores or agglomeration of reinforcement particles, and about 60% of the volume of TiC was uniformly dispersed. In the case of the AISI 52100 alloy, the hardness was 62.42 HRC, which was similar to the 62.84 HRC value of the as-cast TiC/AISI 1020 composite. After the quenching heat treatment, the Rockwell hardness of the composite increased to 76.64 HRC, which was attributed to the martensitic transformation of the AISI 1020 matrix. As a result of the pin-on-disc wear test with high contact pressure, the wear width of AISI 52100 was 2937 μm, which was approximately 4.3 times wider than that of the heat-treated metal matrix composite (682 μm). The wear depths of AISI 52100 and the heat-treated composite were 2.6 μm and 0.5 μm, respectively, indicating that TiC/AISI 1020 exhibited excellent wear resistance compared with bearing steel. Improved wear resistance of the TiC/AISI 1020 composite originates from uniformly distributed TiC, with an increase in the hardness due to the heat treatment. Full article
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8 pages, 4477 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Corrosion Behavior on Crept AlSi10MnMg (AA365) Alloy Produced by High-Pressure Die-Casting (HPDC)
by Seonghwan Park, Cheolmin Ahn and Eunkyung Lee
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(13), 6227; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11136227 - 05 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2704
Abstract
High-pressure die-cast AlSi10MnMg (AA365) alloys have been used as a material for automotive components exposed to high temperature and corrosive environments. This work determines the correlation of corrosion resistance with the intermetallic compounds and micro-voids of crept AA365 alloys under temperatures ranging from [...] Read more.
High-pressure die-cast AlSi10MnMg (AA365) alloys have been used as a material for automotive components exposed to high temperature and corrosive environments. This work determines the correlation of corrosion resistance with the intermetallic compounds and micro-voids of crept AA365 alloys under temperatures ranging from 373 K to 573 K with various applied stresses. The results showed that crept AA365 alloy at 473 K possessed a large amount of the intermetallic phases, compared with crept AA365 alloys at 373 K and 573 K due to the non-equilibrium solute atoms in Al matrix. By contrast, crept AA365 alloy at 573 K contained the lowest number of intermetallic precipitates owing to the remelting of the phases. With regard to the corrosion behavior, the corrosion potentials showed −687.0, −684.0, and −673.0 mVSCE of crept AA365 alloys at 373 K, 473 K, and 573 K, respectively, which means the corrosion occurred slowly on the crept AA365 alloy at 573 K, rather than at 373 K, 473 K. The value of the corrosion current density (Icorr) in the crept HPDC AA365 alloy at 473 K has the highest corrosion current density of 13.3 × 10−6 Acm−2, compared with others. It can be inferred that the high amount of intermetallic compounds gave rise to severe corrosion and led to the harmful micro-galvanic corrosion of crept AA365 alloy, rather than the micro-voids. Full article
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15 pages, 4744 KiB  
Article
Combined Effects of Optimized Heat Treatment and Nickel Coating for the Improvement of Interfacial Bonding in Aluminum–Iron Alloys Hybrid Structures
by Gihoon Moon and Eunkyung Lee
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1501; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11041501 - 07 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2323
Abstract
The effects of nickel coating and heat treatment on the interfacial bonds of aluminum–iron (Al/Fe) alloys hybrid structures were investigated using microstructural analysis. The application of a nickel coating successfully suppressed the formation of defects such as gaps and oxide scale, improving the [...] Read more.
The effects of nickel coating and heat treatment on the interfacial bonds of aluminum–iron (Al/Fe) alloys hybrid structures were investigated using microstructural analysis. The application of a nickel coating successfully suppressed the formation of defects such as gaps and oxide scale, improving the physical bonding of the interface. Optimizing the heat treatment conditions generated superior chemical bonding at the interface and facilitated the formation of a nickel-bearing phase in the Al matrix. Also, the types of nickel-bearing phase were influenced by solution treatment and proximity to the interface. By analyzing the isopleth phase diagram of the aluminum system for the ranges of nickel present in the Al, it was confirmed that the Ni:Cu ratio affected the precipitation characteristics of the system. However, when heated under conditions that were optimized for chemical bonding, the Al matrix decreased by approximately 40% (from 100 HV to 60 HV), due to grain growth. The effect of artificial aging increased the hardness of the Al matrix away from the interface by 35% (from 63 HV to 90 HV). On the other hand, this did not occur in the Al matrix near the interface. These results indicate that the nickel that diffused into the Al matrix interfered with the precipitation hardening effect. Full article
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13 pages, 10331 KiB  
Article
Dispersion Mechanism and Mechanical Properties of SiC Reinforcement in Aluminum Matrix Composite through Stir- and Die-Casting Processes
by Sangmin Shin, Hyeonjae Park, Byeongjin Park, Sang-Bok Lee, Sang-Kwan Lee, Yangdo Kim, Seungchan Cho and Ilguk Jo
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 952; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11030952 - 21 Jan 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2231
Abstract
In this study, different volume fractions of silicon-carbide-reinforced AA2024 matrix composites were successfully fabricated using stir-casting (SC) and die-casting (DC) processes. The microstructural difference and physical properties of the composites during the manufacturing process were investigated in detail. The microstructural analysis found that [...] Read more.
In this study, different volume fractions of silicon-carbide-reinforced AA2024 matrix composites were successfully fabricated using stir-casting (SC) and die-casting (DC) processes. The microstructural difference and physical properties of the composites during the manufacturing process were investigated in detail. The microstructural analysis found that the composite produced by the SC process had some reinforcement clusters and pores; however, defects and clusters significantly decreased after the DC process. In particular, the degree of reinforcement dispersion was quantitatively analyzed and compared before and after the DC process using the dispersion-analysis method. As a result of quantitative evaluation, the degree of dispersion was improved 2.5, 4.6, and 4.0 times with 3 vol.%, 6 vol.%, and 9 vol.% SiC-reinforced composite after the DC process, respectively. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis showed that the grain size of the 9 vol.% SiC-reinforced DC composite (17.67 μm) was 75% smaller than that of the SC composite (68.06 μm). The average tensile strength and hardness of the 9 vol.% SiC-reinforced DC composite were 2 times higher than those of the AA2024 matrix. The superior mechanical properties of the DC-processed composite can be attributed to the increase in dispersivity of the SiC particles and to decreases in defects and grain size during the DC process. Full article
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