High-Current Pulsed Electron Treatment of Hypoeutectic Al–10Si Alloy

Abstract

This paper reports, for the first time, an analysis of the effect of high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) on a hypoeutectic Al–10Si alloy. The Al–10Si alloy was treated by HCPEB in order to see the potential of this fairly recent technique in modifying its wear resistance. For the beam energy density of 3 J/cm2 used in the present work, the melting mode was operative and led to the formation of a “wavy” surface and the absence of mass primary Si phase and eutectic microstructure. The surface nanocrystallization of primary and eutectic Si phases led to the increase in macro-hardness of the top surface layer, and the wear resistance was drastically improved with a factor of 4.

Keywords

• high-current pulsed electron beam
• hypoeutectic al–si alloy
• wear resistance