<p>Aluminum alloys are widely used in many manufacturing areas due to good castability, lightness and mechanical properties. The purpose of this research is to investigate copper’s influence on an Al-Si-Mg alloy (A356). Copper in the range of 0.6 – 1.6 wt. % has been used in an A356 aluminum based alloy. In this work a simulation of three different casting processes, sand-, die- and high pressure die-casting has been employed with the help of gradient solidification equipment. The microstructure of the samples has been studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Materials in both as-cast and heat treated states have been investigated through tensile test bars to get the mechanical properties of the different conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Questions that have been subjected to answer are what influence does copper have on the plastic deformation and on fracture behavior and whether there is a relationship between the content of copper and increased porosity or not; and in that case explore this relationship between the amount of copper and the mechanical behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>It has been analyzed that a peak of mechanical properties is obtained with a content about 1.6 wt. % copper. The increment of copper seems to have a remarkable impact on the mechanical properties and especially after the aging process showing a large raise on the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength.</p><p>Relationship between the copper content and increased porosity could not be found.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:hj-9480 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Bogdanoff, Toni, Dahlström, Jimmy |
| Publisher | Jönköping University, JTH, Mechanical Engineering, Jönköping University, JTH, Mechanical Engineering |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, text |
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