Effect of iron content on the formation of β-Al5FeSi and porosity in Al–Si eutectic alloys

A preliminary investigation has been carried to evaluate the influence of Fe on Sr-modified and unmodified eutectic Al–Si alloys in as-cast and heat treatment conditions. The castings were produced in zircon-coated steel permanent mold and were solutionized at 500 °C for 8 h and followed by artificial aging at 155 °C for 5 h, i.e., T6-temper. The microstructure changes in the β-Al5FeSi particle morphology were analyzed. The results indicate that dendrite arm spacing is strongly related to the cooling rate rather than the chemical composition, increasing the iron content leads to increase porosity and hardness either in the as-cast condition or after T6-temper. The Sr-modified alloys have higher hardness than unmodified at all Fe-added values. The precipitated long branched β-platelets result in the formation of large shrinkage cavities due to the inability of liquid metal to feed the space between them during solidification.