Influence of strontium and lanthanum simultaneous addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of the secondary Al-Si-Cu-Fe alloy

Abstract In this paper, modification agents with different contents of Sr and La elements were added into Al-Si-Cu-Fe alloy and the effect on refinement of secondary phases and α-Al grain was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Tensile testing was carried out to characterize the strength of the alloys. The XRD result indicated that Fe 9 LaSi 4 and SrSi 2 phases were formed after Sr and La elements were added in the alloys simultaneously. With the help of metallographic analysis techniques, the length of needle-like phases, mainly composed of eutectic Si and β-Fe, was quantified. And the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) of α-Al grain was also evaluated. The quantification results indicated that the modification agents with different contents of Sr and La elements showed varied refinement effects on the mean length of needle-like phases and SDAS value. When the addition amount increased, the length of needle-like phase and SDAS value were decreased. The minimum mean length of needle-like phases (Sr/La=1:1) and the SDAS value (Sr/La=1:5) were obtained by setting the addition amount of the modification agent at 0.12 wt.%. The yield strength of the alloy was related to the mean SDAS value, whilst the ultimate tensile strength, elongation and hardness values were related to the mean length of needle-like phase.