A Study of the Mechanical and Thermal Characteristics of an Al-Si-Fe Alloy Fabricated by Rolling and Heat Treatment

Abstract

The effects of a rolling process and heat treatment on the mechanical and thermal properties of an Al-Si-Fe alloy were studied. The achieved thermal conductivity of the as-rolled alloy treated by a T6 heat treatment was 188.22 W/(m·K), which is as good as that of the as-cast alloy treated by the T6 heat treatment directly, mostly because of changes in the silicon morphology. The results also revealed that the lower quantity of precipitated Al8Fe2Si and Mg2Si phases had no obvious effect on the thermal properties of the material because the interphase spaces between precipitated phases were larger than the mean free path of electrons. However, the precipitated second phases influenced the elongation. The best mechanical properties of the Al-Si-Fe alloy were obtained by rolling and T6 treatment. The corresponding best tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation were 244 MPa, 295 MPa, and 9.56%, respectively, which are attributed to the near-spherical shape, small size, homogeneous distribution of the Si particles, and the precipitation strengthening of Mg2Si.

Keywords

• rolling
• heat treatment
• microstructure
• thermal conductivity
• Al-Si-Fe alloy