Effect of Compound Modification and Cooling Rate on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-25%Si Alloy

The effect of phosphorus on primary silicon, phosphorus and mischmetal (Ce-50La) modification on primary and eutectic silicon and cooling rate on microstructure of Al-25%Si are investigated. The results show that, with the addition of phosphorus, the size of primary silicon decreases from 93.6μm to 24.75μm. The morphology of primary silicon changes from irregular to polygonal. When Al-25%Si is modified by phosphorus and mischmetal, primary and eutectic silicon all change effectively. Addition of mischmetal on the basis of phosphorus modification have no influence to primary silicon, but it can make morphology of eutectic silicon change from lamellar to short rod-like when the content of mischmetal reaches 0.5%. The cooling rate curves show the change of temperature in different height of wedge-shaped mould. When cooling rate increases, microstructure of Al-25%Si refines, the size of primary silicon decrease to 22.7μm. The results obtained from mechanical testing demonstrate that the addition of mischmetal and increasing of cooling rate increase hardness value of Al-25%Si alloy.