Effect of the Mold Temperatures on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Pressure Die-Cast Product

Microstructure and mechanical properties of the low pressure die-cast Al wheels were investigated by microscope, image analyzer, NDT (non-destructive test), and tensile test. The variation of SDAS (secondary dendrite arm spacing), porosity per unit area, quality grade, and tensile properties with the mold temperatures were examined. SDAS was gradually decreased with a decrease in temperature. However, the lowest value of porosity per unit area was observed at the mold temperature of and the optimum mold temperature was found to be . Besides, from the observation of pore morphology, it was also found that the pore formation was mainly caused by shrinkage during solidification. The tensile strength, elongation, and impact toughness were markedly decreased, however the yield strength was nearly constant. The decrease of mechanical properties is attributed to the increase of porosity.