THERMAL FATIGUE RESISTANCES OF ۳۵۶ AND ۴۱۳ CAST Al ALLOYS

Abstract: Thermal fatigue is a stochastic process often showing considerable scatter even in controlled environments. Due to complexity of thermal fatigue, there is no a complete analytical solution for predicting the effect of this property on the life of various components, subjected to severe thermal fluctuations. Among these components, one can mention car cylinder, cylinder head and piston which bear damages due to thermal fatigue. All these components are usually produced by casting techniques. In order to comprehend and compare the thermal fatigue resistance of cast Al alloys ۳۵۶ and ۴۱۳, this research was designed and performed. For this purpose, several samples in the form of disc were cast from the two alloys in sand mould. The microstructures of the cast samples were studied by light microscopy in order to choose the samples with the least amounts of defects for thermal fatigue tests. The results of thermal fatigue tests showed that the nucleation of microcracks in Al-۳۵۶ alloy occurred at shorter time relative to those occurred in Al- ۴۱۳ alloy under the same test conditions. In addition, the density of micro-cracks in Al-۳۵۶ alloy was more than that of Al-۴۱۳ alloy. The results of fractography on ۳۵۶ alloy indicated that the cracks were generally nucleated from inter-dendritic shrinkage porosities and occasionally from the interface of silicon particles with the matrix. The growth of these micro cracks was along the dendrite arms. Fractography of ۴۱۳ alloy fracture surfaces showed that nucleation of microcracks was often associated with silicon particles.

کلیدواژه ها:

Thermal Fatigue ، Inter-Dendritic Fracture ، Silicon Particles ، Al-Alloy ، Microcracks ، Al