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The physical properties of polymer quench bath directly affect the cooling rate of a quenched part. These properties include the type of quenchant, its temperature, concentration, and agitation level. These parameters must be controlled to optimize the quenching process in terms of alloy microstructure, properties and performance. Statistically designed experiments have been performed to investigate the effects of the process parameters (i.e. polymer concentration and agitation) on the heat transfer behavior of cast aluminum alloy A356 in aqueous solution of Aqua-Quench 260 using the CHTE quenching-agitation system. The experiments were designed using Taguchi technique and the experimental results were analyzed with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) based on the average cooling rate. It is found that average cooling rate dramatically decreases with the increase in polymer concentration. Agitation only enhances the average cooling rate at low and medium concentration levels. From ANOVA analysis, the process parameter that affects the variation of average cooling rate most is the polymer concentration, its percentage contribution is 97%. The effects from agitation and the interaction between polymer concentration and tank agitation are insignificant. The mechanical properties of age-hardenable Al-Si-Mg alloys depend on the rate at which the alloy is cooled after the solutionizing heat treatment. A model based on the transformation kinetics is needed for the design engineer to quantify the effects of quenching rates on the as-aged properties. Quench Factor analysis was developed by Staley to describe the relationship between the cooling rate and the mechanical properties of an age-hardenable alloy. This method has been previously used to successfully predict yield strength, hardness of wrought aluminum alloys. However, the Quench Factor data for aluminum castings are still rare in the literature. In this study, the Jominy End Quench method was used to experimentally collect the time-temperature and hardness data as the inputs for Quench Factor modeling. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed on the experimental data to estimate the kinetic parameters during quenching. Time-Temperature-Property curves of cast aluminum alloy A356 were generated using the estimated kinetic parameters. Experimental verification was performed on a L5 lost foam cast engine head. The predicted hardness agreed well with that experimentally measured.

Dilute Mg alloys are exclusively identified for wrought structural applications in automotive industry. Any improvement in mechanical properties of alloys is possible only by grain size refinement and by the development of suitable texture. The grain size, grain size anisotropy and texture in these alloys affect the compatibility stresses in a very complex manner. To launch a full scale study towards understanding the complex deformation mechanisms operating in these alloys, it is necessary to understand the effect of grain size and texture on the mechanical behavior of Mg alloys in a broad or semi-quantitative manner first. Current literature lacks such broad study. In this present study, the effect of grain size, grain size anisotropy and texture evolution on the mechanical properties are examined in order to develop an understanding of the deformation mechanism that control the mechanical properties of a dilute conventionally extruded Mg alloy, AZ21. The approach adopted was to first study the microstructure and texture evolution in this conventionally extruded alloy. Since the grain sizes in these alloys vary over a wide range, it is hence necessary to study the microstructure evolution in a highly quantitative manner. In understanding texture, the present study is only limited to qualitatively evaluating the evolution of fibre component of texture using X-Ray Diffraction spectra. For truly quantitative microstructure evolution results in materials were grains sizes are spread over a wide range, it is critical to study a statistically enough no. of grains. Hence to avoid any sampling error, large montages (about 0.3 sq. mm) were constructed out of a series of high resolution images captured using an optical microscope. The montages so constructed are subjected to extensive image enhancement and various other operations are performed to convert these coloured to binary montages. Information like grain size, diameter etc., can be easily extracted from these binary montages and used for further analysis. Fibre texture in these conventionally extruded dilute Mg alloys generally develops due to alignment of basal planes along the direction of extrusion. The Critical Resolved Shear Stress for basal slip is very low when compared to that of non-basal planes. And also since there are very limited primary slip systems in these dilute Mg alloys, the development of strong fibre texture drastically changes the compatibility stresses and hence the mechanical properties . To broadly study the effect of microstructure-texture on mechanical proerties, after post extrusion annealing, heat treatments representing typical microstructure-texture combinations were identified. Effect of each microstructure-texture combination on the tensile and completely reversed cyclic fatigue properties are studied and qualitatively interpreted. The fibre texture showed pronounced effect on tensile ductility but it hardly affected the yield strength. With just 10% reduction in BPI, the ductility reduced by about 50%. A small change in average grain size did not alter the yield strength. Unlike tensile ductility, fatigue endurance stress was not altered drastically by the change in grain size or texture. But there appeared to be a significant effect of residual stress. In ending, a small change in microstructure-texture combination in these conventionally extruded alloys has a pronounced effect on ductility or in other words plastic properties. But a it has minimal effect on yield strength and fatigue endurance stress.

Conventional casting alloys Al-7Si-Mg A356/7 contain between 6.5 and 7.5% Si, together with 0.25-0.7% Mg and are used for critical castings in the automotive and aerospace industries. These alloys are also the most popular alloys used for semi-solid metal (SSM) forming due to good castability and fluidity imparted by the large volumes of the Al-Si eutectic. Despite their industrial importance, there is a lack of detailed research work revealing precipitate micro- and nanostructural evolution during aging of these alloys compared with the Al-Mg-Si 6000 series wrought alloys. This study characterises the heat treatment response of SSM-processed Al-7Si-Mg alloys in comparison with conventionally liquid cast alloys (investment casting and gravity die casting). It is shown that, provided that the maximum quantity of the alloy’s Mg is placed into solid solution during solution treatment, and that the alloy’s Fe content is within specification, the response to age hardening of Al-7Si-Mg alloys is independent of the processing technique used. The nanostructural evolution of Al- 7Si-Mg alloys after artificial aging with and without natural pre-aging has been characterized using transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography and correlated with hardness and mechanical tensile properties. The number densities and Mg:Si ratios of solute clusters, GP zones and β"-needles were determined. The heat treatment response of SSM-processed casting alloys A356/7 alloys are also compared with SSM-processed Al-Mg-Si 6000 series wrought alloys, with the advantage of having similar globular microstructures. The high Si-content of the casting alloys compared to the wrought alloys offers several advantages, including a faster artificial aging response (shorter T6 aging cycles), higher strength for comparable Mg contents and less sensitivity to prior natural aging on peak strength. Finally, an age-hardening model was developed for the Al-7Si-Mg alloys, including a method of incorporating the effects of changes in Mg-content on the aging curves. / Thesis (PhD(Eng))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering / unrestricted

In the present investigation, surface coatings employing laser surface alloying (LSA) and plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) processes have been prepared on Mg alloys. The coatings have been investigated for corrosion and wear behaviour. Two important Mg alloys based on Mg–Al system were selected namely, MRI 230D and AM50 as substrates. LSA coatings have been prepared employing Al and Al2O3 as precursors using different laser scan speeds. PEO coatings were prepared in standard silicate and phosphate based electrolytes employing unipolar, pulsed DC. Hybrid coatings using a combination of the two processes were also produced and investigated for corrosion and wear behaviour. Hybrid coatings of LSA followed by PEO (LSA+PEO) were investigated for effectiveness of sealing the cracks in the LSA coatings by subsequent PEO process and consequent improvement in the corrosion resistance. Hybrid coatings of PEO followed by LSA (PEO+LSA) were prepared with an objective of sealing the pores in the PEO coating LSA treatment. In an attempt to produce more compact PEO coatings, electrolyte containing montmorillonite clay additives was employed for the PEO process of AM50 Mg alloy. The coatings were produced employing different current densities and the effect of current density on the microstructure and corrosion behaviour of coating was investigated. Electrochemical corrosion tests of uncoated and coated alloys were carried out in 3.5 wt.% (0.6M)NaCl, neutral pH, solution with an exposed area of 0.5 cm2 for a time duration of 18.5 h. For the PEO coatings with clay additives, corrosion tests were conducted additionally in 0.5 wt.% (0.08 M) NaCl, neutral pH, solution for a time duration of 226.1 h. Wear behaviour of LSA coatings was analyzed by employing a pin on disc tribo–tester conforming to ASTM G–99 standard at ambient conditions with ground EN32 steel disc of hardness Rc 58 as the counterface. Tests were conducted under dry sliding conditions for a sliding distance of 1.0 km at a sliding velocity of 0.837 m/s employing normal loads of 10, 20, 30 and 40 N. Friction and wear behavior of PEO and PEO+LSA coatings were analyzed at ambient conditions by employing a ball−on−flat linearly oscillating tribometer conforming to ASTM G–133 standard. AISI 52100 steel ball of diameter 6 mm was employed as the friction partner. Wear tests were conducted under dry sliding conditions for a total sliding distance of 100 m at normal loads of 2 N and 5 N with oscillating amplitude of 10 mm and mean sliding speed of 5 mm/s. LSA coatings could not improve the corrosion resistance of MRI 230D Mg alloy. This was attributed to the presence of cracks in the LSA coating, which resulted in the accelerated galvanic corrosion of the substrate. LSA coatings improved the wear resistance at all loads. The improved wear resistance was attributed to β (Mg17Al12) phase and Al2O3 particles in the coating which increased the hardness of the LSA layer. No trend in corrosion and wear resistance with laser scan speed was observed for LSA coatings. PEO coatings improved the corrosion resistance of the MRI 230D Mg alloy significantly. The improved corrosion resistance was attributed to the enhanced barrier protection provided by dense barrier layer formed at the substrate/coating interface and to the insoluble phase constituents in the coatings. PEO coating was effective in improving the wear resistance at low loads/contact pressures. At higher loads, the coating underwent micro–fracture as a result of the porosity in the coatings. Hybrid coatings of LSA followed by PEO (LSA+PEO) in silicate based electrolyte improved the corrosion resistance of LSA coatings. However, the corrosion resistance was not improved to the extent of PEO coatings on as–cast alloy as a result of cracks in the primary coatings, which were not fully sealed by the plasma conversion products. No trend in corrosion resistance with laser scan speed was observed for LSA+PEOcoatings. In hybrid coatings of PEO followed by LSA (PEO+LSA), primary PEO coating was completely melted and mixed with applied precursor to form a single composite LSA layer. The corrosion resistance of the hybrid coatings was observed to be lower than that of the as–cast alloy. The presence of solidification cracks reduced the barrier properties and resulted in the accelerated galvanic corrosion of the substrate similar to LSA coatings. Hybrid (PEO+LSA) coatings exhibited improved wear resistance as compared to as–cast alloy at lower loads as a result of increase in the hardness due to β (Mg17Al12) phase and oxide/ceramic particles in the hybrid layer. At higher loads, hybrid coatings exhibited higher wear rate as compared to as–cast alloy and PEO coatings. This was attributed to three–body abrasive wear as a result of dislodged hard oxide/ceramic particles in the wear tracks. No trend in corrosion and wear resistance with laser scan speed was observed for PEO+LSA coatings. PEO coatings on AM50 Mg alloy by employing clay additives in the electrolyte resulted in the reactive uptake of clay particles producing a predominantly amorphous coating at low current density. Clay additives were effective in improving the compactness of the coating at lower current density. At higher current densities, the porosity of the coatings increased. The clay particles got re–constituted producing increasing amount of crystalline phases with increase in current density. Long term impedance measurements showed that clay addition as well as increased current density employed for the PEO process was not effective in improving the corrosion resistance of the coatings. At low current density, even though the coating with clay additives was more compact, it was deficient in MgO and consisted predominantly of an amorphous phase, which underwent fast dissolution in electrolyte thereby resulting in an early loss of barrier properties. At higher current densities, even though the coatings consisted of increased amount of MgO and crystalline phases, which resist dissolution in the electrolyte, the increased porosity and defective barrier layer resulted in easy permeation of the electrolyte into the substrate/coating interface, which resulted in much earlier loss of barrier properties and inferior corrosion resistance.

Magnesium alloys, owing to their low density and high specific strength, are potential candidates for structural applications in automotive and aerospace industry. While considerable research effort has been devoted in recent years to understand deformation twinning in these alloys and Mg single crystals, only few studies have been conducted on their fracture behavior. This issue assumes importance since some investigations have shown that Mg alloys may possess low fracture toughness (less than Al alloys). Therefore, a combined experimental and numerical study of fracture in Mg single crystals under mode-I loading is performed in this work. The fracture experiments are conducted using three point bend(TPB) specimens inside a scanning electron microscope(SEM) stage equipped with specially designed fixtures. Three crystallographic orientations are considered where c-axis [0001] is along the normal to the flat surface of the notch in the first two orientations, while in the third it is aligned with the notch front. In-situ electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) observations are made in the region around the notch root to monitor the evolution of tensile twinning on the specimen free surface. Along with EBSD, optical metallography, fractography and surface profilometry are also performed on the specimens to obtain a comprehensive understanding on the micromechanics of fracture in Mg single crystals. From the EBSD data, it is noticed that all the orientations show profuse tensile twinning of {1012}-type. Further, in the first two orientations, basal and prismatic slip traces are identified along with secondary basal slip inside the twins. The growth of the most prominent twin is monitored as a function of load and it is found that its width saturates at around 120 -150 μm, while twins continue to nucleate farther away to accommodate plastic deformation. The 3D nature of twinning is examined by comparing distribution of twin traces and the average twin volume fraction at the free surface and the mid-plane. It is noted that in all the orientations crack initiation occurs before the attainment of peak load and the crack grows stably along twin-matrix interface. Further, zigzaging of the crack path occurs due to deflection of the crack at the twin-twin intersections. It is found that profuse tensile twinning is an important energy dissipating mechanism that enhances the toughness of the material. Indeed, the experimental results show that the energy release rate J versus load histories corroborate with evolution of average twin volume fraction around the notch root. In order to gain further insights on the mechanics of fracture in Mg single crystals, 3D finite element simulations are carried out using a crystal plasticity framework, which includes crystallographic slip and twinning. The predicted load-displacement curves, slip traces and tensile twinning activity from finite element analysis are in good corroboration with the experimental observations. The numerical results are used to understand the 3D nature of the crack tip stress, plastic slip and twin volume fraction distributions near the notch root. The occurrence of tensile twinning in all three orientations is rationalized from the distribution of nor-mal stress ahead of the notch tip. In particular, compressive normal stress beyond the plastic hinge point causes out-of-plane bulging that is accompanied by tensile twinning for the third orientation in which the c-axis is aligned along the specimen thickness. The above behavior emphasizes the importance of tensile twinning since this orientation has relevance to polycrystalline Mg alloys that have a basal texture.

Aim of the present work was to explore the possibility of improving strength of cast Mg by alloying additions, viz., Si and Zn+Al. All the alloys were produced by squeeze casting technique using squeeze pressure of 12MPa and their microstructure, tensile and corrosion properties were studied. Mg-Si system was chosen because the intermetallic compound Mg2Si possesses many desirable properties, such as, low density, high hardness, high melting point. Hence, there is scope for improving the strength of Mg by dispersion of primary Mg2Si particles. Addition of Si to Mg resulted in the formation of �-Mg, particles of primary Mg2Si and eutectic as microstructural constituents. The morphology of primary Mg2Si changed from polyhedral shaped particles to dendrites as Si content was increased from 3.57 to 5.5 wt%. Volume fraction of primary Mg2Si increased with increase in Si content. Particle size of primary Mg2Si also increased with increase in silicon content but at the same time it was found to be dependent on melt temperature, i.e., a lower particle size was obtained at higher melt temperatures. Addition of Al and Sr was made to Mg-2Si alloy in order to further increase the strength by solid solution strengthening and refinement/modification of primary Mg2Si particles/eutectic. Addition of 1.2 wt% Al to Mg-2Si alloy resulted in irregular type of morphology of Mg2Si particles and increased particle size. Addition of 0.2 wt% SrtoMg-2Si-1.2Al alloy resulted in slight refinement of primary Mg2Si particles and modification of eutectic. Addition of 0.4 wt% Sr resulted in both refinement and restoration of morphology of Mg2Si particles from irregular to polyhedral shape. This was accompanied by destruction of eutectic, and rods containing Mg, Si, Al and Sr were observed. The addition of 1.33 wt%Si to Mg resulted in improvement in 0.2%PS by about 80 MPa,UTS by about 40MPa and these values did not change much till the addition of 3.57 wt% Si. A drop in the strength values was observed at Si content of 5.5 wt%,where transition in morphology of primary Mg2Si occurred from polyhedral to dendrite. Addition of Si resulted in reduction in % elongation by about 2%. The addition of Al and Sr did not change the tensile properties of binary Mg-2Si alloy much. It was concluded that the volume fraction and size of primary Mg2Siparticles obtained with Si addition up to 3.57 wt% did not contribute much to strength and the strengthening mainly came from the eutectic present in the matrix. As Si content was increased to 5.5 wt% in order to increase the volume fraction of primary Mg2Si particles, the morphology of Mg2Si changed to dendritic type resulting in reduction in strength. Thus, the maximum increase in strength is achieved at near eutectic composition,i.e.,intheMg-1.33Sialloy,andfurtherincreaseinstrengthdoesnotseem to be feasible with this alloy system. The ductility of all the Mg-Si based alloys was also low, i.e, 0.5% elongation to fracture or less. Regarding the corrosion behaviour, the addition of Si to Mg deteriorated the corrosion resistance and the addition of Al and Sr further worsened it. Since further improvement in tensile properties did not seem feasible with Mg-Si alloy system, the focus was shifted to Mg-Zn-Al alloy system. There is scope for improvement in strength in Mg-Zn-Al alloy system by solid solution strengthening, grain refinement and precipitation hardening. It was observed that the addition of Zn and Al resulted in microstructure containing α-Mg grains and secondary phase at the grain boundary. XRD analysis showed the secondary phase to be Al5Mg11Zn4 but EDS analysis did not match with this composition. Therefore, the nature of this phase remains uncertain. Addition of 6 wt% Zn and 1 wt% Al resulted in improvement in strength as well as ductility: 0.2%PS improved by about 70 MPa, UTS by about 100 MPa and % elongation by about 7%. Addition of small amounts of Caresultedinrefinementofmicrostructurecausingimprovementinstrengthwithout much decrease in % elongation. Increase in Al content from 1 to 4 wt% resulted in increase in 0.2%PS but UTS slightly decreased, as % elongation reduced. Alloys subjected to T6 heat treatment showed improvement in strength but slight reduction in % elongation. ZA64 alloy in T6 condition gave 130 MPa 0.2%PS, 225 MPa UTS and 4.9% elongation, which are much higher tensile properties as compared Mg-Si alloys. All the three mechanisms mentioned above contribute to the strengthening. There is scope for further improvement in strength by employing a more suitable heat treatment. Regarding corrosion behaviour, addition of 6 wt% Zn and 1 wt% of Al to Mg did not deteriorate its corrosion resistance much. Addition of small amounts of Ca was found to be beneficial for corrosion resistance, whereas an increase in Al content lowered the corrosion resistance. Heat treatment also reduced the corrosion resistance.

Magnesium alloys have poor formability at room temperature, due to a limited number of slip systems owing to the hexagonal closed packed structure of magnesium. One possibility to increase the formability of magnesium alloys is to refine the grain size. A fine grain magnesium alloy shows high strength and high ductility at room temperature, hence an improved formability. In addition to grain refinement, the formability of Mg alloys can be improved by controlling crystallographic texture. Severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes namely, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) and multi-axial forging (MAF) have led to improvement in room temperature mechanical property of magnesium alloys. Further, it has been reported that by adding rare earth elements, room temperature ductility is enhanced to nearly 30%. The increase in property is attributed to crystallographic texture. Many rare earth elements have been added to magnesium alloys and new alloy systems have been developed. Amongst these elements, Ce addition has been shown to enhance the tensile ductility in rolled sheets at room temperature by causing homogeneous deformation. It has been observed that processing of rare-earth containing alloys below 300°C is difficult. Processing at higher temperatures leads to grain growth which ultimately leads to low strength at room temperature. The present thesis is an attempt to combine the effect SPD and rare earth addition, and to examine the overall effect on microstructure and texture, hence on room temperature mechanical properties. In this thesis, Mg-0.2%Ce alloy has been studied with regard to the two SPD processes, namely, ECAP and MAF. The thesis has been divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 is dedicated to introduction and literature review pertaining to different severe plastic deformation processes as applied to different Mg alloys. Chapter 2 includes the details of experimental techniques and characterization procedures, which are commonly employed for the entire work. Chapter 3 addresses the effect of ECAP on the evolution of texture and microstructure in Mg-0.2%Ce alloy. ECAP has been carried out on two different initial microstructure and texture in the starting condition, namely forged and extruded. ECAP has been successfully carried out for the forged billets at 250°C while cracks get developed in the extruded billet when ECAP was done at 250°C. The difference in the deformation behaviour of the two alloys has been explained on the basis of the crystallographic texture of the initial materials. The microstructure of the ECAP materials indicates the occurrence of recrystallization. The recrystallization mechanism is identified as “continuous dynamic recovery and recrystallization” (CDRR) and is characterized by a rotation of the deformed grains by ~30⁰ along c-axis. The yield strengths and ductility of the two ECAP materials have been found quite close. However, there is a difference in the yield strength as well as ductility values when the materials were tested under compression. The extruded billet has the tension compression asymmetry ~1.7 while the forged material has the asymmetry as ~2.2. After ECAP, the yield asymmetry reduces to ~1 for initially extruded billet, while for the initially forged billet the yield asymmetry value reduces to ~1.9. In chapter 4, the evolution of microstructure and texture was examined using another severe plastic deformation technique, namely multi axial forging (MAF). In this process, the material was plastically deformed by plane strain compression subsequently along all three axes. In this case also two different initial microstructures and texture were studied, namely the material in as cast condition and the extruded material. The choice of initial materials in this case was done in order to examine the effect of different initial grain size in addition to different textures. By this method, the alloy Mg-0.2%Ce could be deformed without fracture at a minimum temperature of 350⁰C leading to fine grain size (~3.5 µm) and a weak texture. Grain refinement was more in the initial cast billets compared to the initial extruded billet after processing. The mechanism of grain refinement has been identified as twin assisted dynamic recrystallization (TDRX) and CDRR type. The mechanical properties under tension as well as under compression were also evaluated in the present case. The initially extruded billet has shown low tension compression asymmetry (~1.2) than cast billet (~1.9), after MAF. Chapter 5 addresses the exclusive effect of texture on room temperature tensile properties of the alloy. Different textures were the outcomes of ECAP and MAF processes. In this case, in order to obtain an exact role of texture, a third of deformation mode, rolling, was also introduced. All the processed materials were annealed to obtain similar grain size but different texture. A similar strength and ductility for ECAP and MAF, where the textures were qualitatively very different, was attributed to the fact that texture of both the ECAP and MAF processed materials, was away from the ideal end orientation for tensile tests. In chapter 7, the final outcomes of the thesis have been summarized and scope for the future work has been presented.

<p>Low angle grain boundary (LAGB) mobility is an essential parameter for developing the analytical models that describe the kinetics of recovery and predict the nucleation of recrystallized grains. The thesis is aimed at the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations study of LAGB mobility determination in pure Al and Al-Mg alloys. All the previous experimental studies reported that the presence of several defects, such as solutes and dislocations, retard the boundary motion and provide lower mobility. However, very few studies have been conducted in MD simulation to capture the interactions of those defects with the migrating grain boundary. This thesis is focused on providing complete understanding of LAGB determination along with a comprehensive explanation of solute and dislocation retarding effects on boundary motion.</p> <p>The LAGB mobility in pure Al was computed from two different MD techniques as a function of temperature and misorientation. Within numerical uncertainties, both techniques provide the same magnitude of mobility at 300K for 7.785^o boundary and at 700K for 23.07^o boundary. It was observed that ADF method is not applicable to determine LAGB mobility at high temperature due to failure of order parameter computation. The MD derived activation energy is found to be approximately ten times lower than the experimental observations.</p> <p>A strong solute pinning effect on boundary motion was observed at all misorientations and solute concentrations studied in Al-Mg alloys. An approximate linear relationship is found between the restraining force and the solute concentration in a distributed solute approach. In addition, the extrinsic dislocations are found to completely pin both 7.785^o and 23.07^o boundary motion at low driving forces in pure Al at 300K. The MD results do not reveal significant qualitative differences of the pinned boundary structure for the low and high angle boundaries and will be discussed in terms of the previous experimental observations.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Due to the increasing use of cyclically loaded cast aluminum components in automotive and aerospace applications, fatigue and fatigue crack growth characteristics of aluminum castings are of great interest. Despite the extensive research efforts dedicated to this topic, a fundamental, mechanistic understanding of these alloys' behavior when subjected to dynamic loading is still lacking. This fundamental research investigated the mechanisms active at the microstructure level during dynamic loading and failure of conventionally cast and SSM Al-Si-Mg alloys. Five model alloys were cast to isolate the individual contribution of constituent phases on fatigue resistance. The major constituent phases, alpha-Al dendrites, Al/Si eutectic phase, and Mg-Si strengthening precipitates were mechanistically investigated to relate microstructure to near-threshold crack growth (Delta Kth) and crack propagation regimes (Regions II and III) for alloys of different Si composition/morphology, grain size, secondary dendrite arm spacing, heat treatment. A procedure to evaluate the actual fracture toughness from fatigue crack growth data was successfully developed based on a complex Elastic-Plastic-Fracture-Mechanics (EPFM/J-integral) approach. Residual stress-microstructure interactions, commonly overlooked by researches in the field, were also comprehensively defined and accounted for both experimentally and mathematically, and future revisions of ASTM E647 are expected.