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Metallographic Assessment of Al-12Si High-Pressure Die Casting Escalator Steps

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2014

George Frederic Vander Voort ,
Beatriz Suárez-Peña  and
Juan Asensio-Lozano
George Frederic Vander Voort
Affiliation:
Consultant, 2887 N. Southern Hills Drive, Wadsworth, IL 60083-9293, USA
Beatriz Suárez-Peña
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, University of Oviedo, Campus of Gijón, Gijón, Asturias 33203, Spain
Juan Asensio-Lozano*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, The School of Mines, The University of Oviedo, Oviedo 33004, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. [email protected]
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Abstract

A microstructural characterization study was performed on high-pressure die cast specimens extracted from escalator steps manufactured from an Al-12 wt.% Si alloy designed for structural applications. Black and white, color light optical imaging and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to conduct the microstructural analysis. Most regions in the samples studied contained globular-rosette primary α-Al grains surrounded by an Al-Si eutectic aggregate, while primary dendritic α-Al grains were present in the surface layer. This dendritic microstructure was observed in the regions where the melt did not impinge directly on the die surface during cavity filling. Consequently, microstructures in the surface layer were nonuniform. Utilizing physical metallurgy principles, these results were analyzed in terms of the applied pressure and filling velocity during high-pressure die casting. The effects of these parameters on solidification at different locations of the casting are discussed.

Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 1486 - 1493
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2014 

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