Study of the Effect of Cooling Rate on Eutectic Modification in A356 Aluminium Alloys

In this present work, an assessment of eutectic modification based on thermal analysis was performed on modified A356 alloy. The effect of various cooling rates which were achieved by means of casting samples with various moduli in sand and metallic moulds was investigated. Cooling curves recorded from thermocouples inserted in the centre of the samples showed characteristic undercooling and recalescence associated with (Al)-Si eutectic modification. The results showed that cooling rate has a role in observed modification level. Furthermore, differential thermal analysis was included to determine the eutectic melting temperature.