Effect of microstructure and overaging on the tensile behavior at room and elevated temperature of C355-T6 cast aluminum alloy

• Tensile behavior of C355 Al–Si–Cu–Mg casting alloy was studied.
• SDAS effect on the tensile behavior at room and high temperature was investigated.
• The effect of overaging on C355 alloy tensile behavior was evaluated.
• Decreasing SDAS led to higher UTS and E%, while the effect on YS was less relevant.
• Overaging induced coarsening of strengthening phases and notable strength decrease.

The present study was focused on the microstructural and mechanical characterization of the Al–Si–Cu–Mg C355 alloy, at room and elevated temperature. In order to evaluate the influence of microstructural coarseness on mechanical behavior, samples with different Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing (SDAS) (20–25 μm for fine microstructure and 50–70 μm for coarse microstructure), were produced through controlled casting conditions. The tensile behavior of the alloy was evaluated at T6 condition and at T6 with subsequent high temperature exposure (41 h at 210 °C, i.e. overaging), both at room and elevated temperature (200 °C). Microstructural investigations were performed through optical and electron microscopy.The results confirmed the important role of microstructure on the tensile behavior of C355 alloy. Ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure strongly increased with the decrease of SDAS. Larger SDAS, related to lower solidification rates, modify microstructural features, such as eutectic Si morphology and size of the intermetallic phases, which in turn influence elongation to failure. Overaging before tensile testing induced coarsening of the strengthening precipitates, as observed by STEM analyses, with consequent reduction of the tensile strength of the alloy, regardless of SDAS. A more sensible decrease of tensile properties was registered at 200 °C testing temperature.

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