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Impact Behavior of A356 Foundry Alloys in the Presence of Trace Elements Ni and V

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Abstract

In the present work, the impact behavior of unmodified A356 alloys with the addition of Ni or V in as-cast and T6 heat-treated conditions was assessed. Charpy V-notched specimens obtained from sand and permanent mold casting showed low total absorbed energy average values (W t < 2 J). SEM analysis of fracture profiles and surfaces indicated a Si-driven crack propagation with a predominant transgranular fracture mode. Occasionally, intergranular contributions to fracture were detected in the permanent mold cast alloys due to the locally finer microstructure. Concurrent mechanisms related to the chemical composition, solidification conditions and heat treatment were found to control the impact properties of the alloys. While the trace element Ni exerted only minor effects on the impact toughness of the A356 alloy, V had a strong influence: (i) V-containing sand cast alloys absorbed slightly higher impact energies compared to the corresponding A356 base alloys; (ii) in the permanent mold cast alloys, V in solid solution led to a considerable loss of ductility, which in turn decreased the total absorbed energy.

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Acknowledgments

This research activity was supported by the “Bando Giovani Ricercatori – Fondi 5x1000 anno 2010 e Fondi Unicredit 2013” of the University of Ferrara. In addition, the authors gratefully acknowledge Hydro Aluminium AS (Norway) for financial support. Thanks are also due to Hermann Hovland from Sør-Norge Aluminium AS (Norway) for the generous supply of master alloys and to Arne Nordmark and Kurt Sandaunet from SINTEF Materials and Chemistry (Norway) for their help during the manufacturing of castings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 5, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Daniele Casari

  2. Hydro Aluminium AS, Verksvegen 1, 6882, Øvre Årdal, Norway

    Thomas H. Ludwig

  3. Engineering Department, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, 44122, Ferrara, Italy

    Mattia Merlin & Gian Luca Garagnani

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Alfred Getz vei 2, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Lars Arnberg

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  1. Daniele Casari
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  5. Gian Luca Garagnani
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Correspondence to Daniele Casari.

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Casari, D., Ludwig, T.H., Merlin, M. et al. Impact Behavior of A356 Foundry Alloys in the Presence of Trace Elements Ni and V. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 24, 894–908 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-014-1355-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-014-1355-3

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