This work applied the grain refinement technique by heterogeneous nucleation and precipitation hardening to investigate the effect of size and morphology of β-Fe particles on Al-Si alloys\' mechanical behavior Fe-critical, inoculated via Nb+B and heat-treated. The samples for the microstructural analyses were produced according to the standard mold, Test Procedure-1 (TP-1) and, analyzed by optical microscope with polarised light and filter plate and differential interference contrast (DIC) and by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XRD SEM) with EDS detector analyzer. The specimens for the mechanical tests were cast in a metal mold according to ASTM B108. The combined effect of manipulating the studied alloy Al10Si1Fe0.35Mg resulted in reduced and spheroidized β-Fe precipitates with improved mechanical properties in the material. Properties are similar to those achieved by commercially used alloys with engineering applications in structural and safety parts.
Part of the book: Casting Processes