Before beginning the experimental work of this study, a magnesium high pressure die casting facility is set up to manufacture magnesium cast parts for defence industry. In this thesis two components are cold chamber high pressure die casted using magnesium alloy AZ91 as raw material, and one component was manufactured using both aluminium alloy A.413, and magnesium alloy AZ91. Mechanical properties of high pressure die casting parts depend on various parameters such as, thickness of the cast part, position of the cast part in the cavity, molten metal temperature, die temperature, piston speeds, and injection pressure. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of section thickness of the cast part, position of the cast part in the die cavity, piston speeds, and molten metal temperature on mechanical properties of magnesium die cast parts. Tensile properties of products from Al A.413 and Mg AZ91 alloys are also compared. Casting analysis software is used to simulate filling and temperature evolution of three different casting components. Piston speeds are first calculated from equations in the literature and then verified by using the software. Specimens for microstructural investigation, and mechanical tests are machined directly from the mass produced parts. Optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy investigations are carried out for grain size and porosity determination. Tensile tests are conducted for yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and % elongation values. The results of casting analysis software simulations, grains size investigations, porosity investigations, and tensile tests are correlated to each other. Optimum piston speeds, optimum molten metal temperatures are observed, effect of grain size and porosity concentrations on the effect of mechanical properties are compared. Weight of cast parts produced from Mg AZ91 are 35 % lower than that of Al A.413 parts. However, ultimate tensile strength of the cast parts produced from Mg AZ91 are found to be similar to the aluminium parts.

Les alliages Al-Si sont largement utilisés dans l’industrie automobile en fonderie sous pression, en particulier pour la fabrication des blocs moteurs, en raison de leurs bon rapport résistance/ poids et leurs excellentes propriétés mécaniques. Du fait de l’internationalisation de la production, la composition chimique de ces alliages et les paramètres du procédé HPDC peuvent varier d’un pays à l’autre, ils peuvent même varier d’un site de fabrication à l’autre dans le même pays. Or, les conceptions des pièces automobiles sont aujourd’hui de type déterministe et elles sont réalisées sur la base des matériaux et procédés européens, ce qui peut affecter les propriétés de ces pièces dans le cas d’une localisation hors Europe. Ainsi, il est important de pouvoir adapter les conceptions rapidement et à moindre coût en prenant en compte les contraintes matériau/ process locales. Dans cette thèse, nous avons proposé une approche méthodologique permettant de prédire les caractéristiques mécaniques en fonction de la variabilité matériaux/ process en s'appuyant sur une étude expérimentale/ statistique de l’effet de la variabilité des principaux éléments d’alliage (Si, Cu, Mg) et des paramètres procédé (température de la coulée et pression d’injection) sur les propriétés mécaniques des alliages d’Al-Si moulés sous pression. La microstructure et le taux de porosités ont également été évalués. Cette méthodologie a abouti à la construction d’un outil de conception produit permettant de prédire les caractéristiques mécaniques dans le cas du changement de l’un (ou des) paramètres Matériau/ Process. / Secondary Al-Si alloys are widely used in automotive industry for engine blocks because they offer a considerable weight reduction whilst maintaining good mechanical properties. The ever-expanding internationalisation of production, with same stages of production processes spread across a number of countries to produce locally, causes however high variability in the casting products. The chemical composition of the same alloys and the working variables of the unchanged high-pressure die casting process (HPDC) may change for the same casting parts from one country to another, they can even sometimes vary from one manufacturing site to another within the same country. Designing for aluminium automotive components does call today for new deterministic design methods that are often achieved from European material and casting process databases, which can affect the properties of these parts in the case of a location outside Europe. Thus, it is important to adapt the design of die casting parts quickly and inexpensively by taking into account the material and process local constraints. In this work, a methodological approach which permits to predict mechanical properties as a function of material and process variability based on an experimental/ statistical study on the effect of the variability of the primary factors of alloying elements contents (Si, Cu and Mg) and HPDC process parameters (casting temperature and injection pressure) on mechanical properties of die cast aluminium alloys has been proposed. The microstructural features and the porosity level were also investigated and assessed. This approach has resulted in statistical design tool that will allow designers to make changes to the design of their casting and to industrialize them outside Europe.

The aim of this thesis is to determine influence of porosity and shape-factor over mechanical properties, performed on cast samples from Aalen foundry (Germany), that were high pressure die casted from AZ91 D Alloy. Evaluation of these quantities was done using computer software Olympus Five. Measured values were subjected to statistical analysis in order to eliminate gross errors and determine linear dependence between mechanical properties and porosity eventually voids shape factor.

This master thesis will cover the possibility of using directed gassing of Al-Si alloys in a high pressure die casting foundry. As a control gas, rotary degasser with gaseous 20 % H2 in N2 as a medium was used. Castings were casted via high pressure die casting machine. The aim of this research is to compare internal defect such as porosity or shrinkage of a casts made from degassed and control gassed melt.

No description available.

<p>Quality of the castings is affected by several factors which the designer should take into consideration during the product development process. Although residual stress is one of those, it is often not considered in practical computations. Hence residual stresses are one of the forgotten areas in designing of machine parts. This master thesis is focused on the investigation of residual stresses in a high pressure die casted component, with the aim of extending its service life, by taking results from the study as a feedback.</p><p>The investigation of residual stresses was done on a variety of specimens, cast aluminum flywheel, provided by Husqvarna AB. This flywheel is a component in a product of the same company.In evaluating the residual stresses in the part, two tools-simulation and physical measurement were used. Moreover, comparison with these two methods is also done at an area of interest on the flywheel. The simulation was carried out by using MAGMAhpdc-a module for high pressure die casting process, from the commercial software package MAGMAsoft; while for the physical measurements, the hole drilling method was used, a method believed to be less accurate at low stresses areas.</p><p>The findings obtained from this study show that the results from both procedures are close, with small deviations observed, which reveals the reliability of the hole drilling method even when the stress levels are low. It is also found that the compressive residual stresses dominate in the component-a preferred phenomenon with regards to residual stress.</p>

Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurde das Potential von Magnesium für den Einsatz im Fahrwerk eines Automobils, am Beispiel der Querbrücke des Hinterachsträgers, ermittelt. Verschiedene Mg-Legierungen wurden im konventionellen und vakuumunterstützen Druckguss vergossen und der Al-Legierung vergleichend gegenübergestellt. Es wurden in einem ersten Schritt statische und zyklische Werkstoffkennwerte sowie Materialmodelle erforscht und bewertet. Verschiedene Lastfälle im Standard- und Sonderfahrbetrieb wurden durch statische und zyklische Betriebsfestigkeitssimulationen abgesichert. Konstruktive Bauteiloptimierungen waren notwendig um den Werkstoff Magnesium an die Anforderungen der Querbrücke anzupassen. Äußere Umwelteinflüsse im Fahrbetrieb machten ein Korrosionsschutzkonzept für die Querbrücke aus Magnesium notwendig. Untersucht wurden dabei verschiedene Maßnahmen zur Vermeidung von Kontakt- und Oberflächenkorrosion. Grundsätzlich scheint der Einsatz von Magnesium im Fahrwerk im Bereich mittlerer Betriebsbelastungen denkbar.

Quality of the castings is affected by several factors which the designer should take into consideration during the product development process. Although residual stress is one of those, it is often not considered in practical computations. Hence residual stresses are one of the forgotten areas in designing of machine parts. This master thesis is focused on the investigation of residual stresses in a high pressure die casted component, with the aim of extending its service life, by taking results from the study as a feedback. The investigation of residual stresses was done on a variety of specimens, cast aluminum flywheel, provided by Husqvarna AB. This flywheel is a component in a product of the same company.In evaluating the residual stresses in the part, two tools-simulation and physical measurement were used. Moreover, comparison with these two methods is also done at an area of interest on the flywheel. The simulation was carried out by using MAGMAhpdc-a module for high pressure die casting process, from the commercial software package MAGMAsoft; while for the physical measurements, the hole drilling method was used, a method believed to be less accurate at low stresses areas. The findings obtained from this study show that the results from both procedures are close, with small deviations observed, which reveals the reliability of the hole drilling method even when the stress levels are low. It is also found that the compressive residual stresses dominate in the component-a preferred phenomenon with regards to residual stress.

La réduction de la masse des véhicules, notamment des Groupes Motopropulseurs contribue à la réduction des émissions polluantes. Aujourd’hui afin d’aboutir à cet objectif, la conception de pièces automobiles (Carter Mécanisme, Carter Cylindre) en matériau allégé tel que l’aluminium et ses alliages est en plein essor. Pour la production de grande série, ces alliages sont mis en œuvre par le procédé de fonderie ‘’Aluminium sous pression’’.Ce procédé utilise des moules métalliques. La maîtrise du comportement thermique du moule : chauffage, refroidissement interne (par circuit) et externe, est un point clef pour la qualité et la cadence de production.Dans ce mémoire, le processus industriel est détaillé depuis la fermeture du moule et l’injection du métal liquide jusqu’à l’ouverture du moule et l’extraction de la pièce (carter mécanisme RENAULT). Ensuite, le design détaillé du moule, les différentes générations de circuit de refroidissement et les paramètres de chaque étape de la fabrication utilisés compte tenu du système de refroidissement actuel sont présentés. Le circuit de refroidissement du moule est aujourd’hui positionné dans le moule de façon empirique. Le but ultime de cette thèse est de donner les éléments clés de la conception du circuit de refroidissement d’un point vue thermique. Pour cela, une modélisation complète du phénomène a été réalisée et validée par 8 thermocouples et la position du system de refroidissement a été définie a partir des équations thermiques. Le cycle thermique du moule a été donc optimisé et nous a permis d’abaisser et d’homogénéiser les champs de température à la surface du moule pendant la production en vue d’une augmentation de la productivité, la santé des pièces et la durée de vie du moule. / Reducing the weight of vehicles, specially the powertrain Group, contributes to the reduction of the emissions. Today, in order to achieve this objective, the automobile parts conception (Housing gear box, Cylinder block) in lightweight materials such as aluminum and its alloys is increasing. For the mass production, aluminum alloys are formed by a foundry process called ‘’High Pressure Die Casting’’.This process uses the metal molds. Control the thermal behavior of the mold : Heating, intern cooling (by circuit) and extern cooling, is a key point to ensure castings quality and rate of production.In this thesis, the industrial process has been detailed since the mold closing and aluminum melting injection in the die, to the mold opening time and the part (Gearbox RENAULT) ejection. Then, the mold design details, different generation of the cooling systems and the parameters of each step of the manufacturing process taking into account the actual cooling system are presented. The actual cooling systems in the dies are positioned today in empirical way. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to provide the key elements for the cooling system conception from the thermal behavior point of view. For this one, a complete modeling of the phenomena has been realized and validated by 8 thermocouples and the cooling system position has been defined from the thermal equations. The thermal cycle of the die has been optimized and allowed us to reduce and homogenize the temperature fields on the die surface during the production. The rate of production, the castings quality and the lifetime of the die have been consequently increased.

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