Effect of Mn Addition on the Corrosion and Fatigue Properties of a Progressive Secondary A357 Alloy

Abstract

As the modern automotive industry is looking for lightweight alternatives to minimize car emissions and fuel consumption, recycled Al-Si alloys play a key role in achieving this due to their lightweight, high specific strength, good castability, and corrosion resistance. In contrast to many other benefits, these alloys have reduced metallurgical micropurity as a result of recycling. The most significant complication of alloys is iron contamination. Higher Fe contents cause β-Fe-intermetallic phases in the form of long and brittle platelets that negatively affect corrosion resistance and fatigue. Neutralizing elements lead to the formation of less harmful α-Fe-rich phases, therefore a positive effect on properties is also expected. For this reason, the study investigates the effect of Mn addition on the corrosion properties achieved by immersion test and potentiodynamic polarization test and fatigue of secondary AlSi7Mg0.6 secondary alloy.

Keywords

• aluminium alloys
• iron contamination
• manganese addition
• corrosion
• fatigue