Tensile Properties of Al-Cu 206 Cast Alloys with Various Iron Contents

The Al-Cu 206 cast alloys with varying alloy compositions (i.e., different levels of Fe, Mn, and Si) were investigated to evaluate the effect of the iron-rich intermetallics on the tensile properties. It is found that the tensile strength decreases with increasing iron content, but its overall loss is less than 10 pct over the range of 0.15 to 0.5 pct Fe at 0.3 pct Mn and 0.3 pct Si. At similar iron contents, the tensile properties of the alloys with dominant Chinese script iron-rich intermetallics are generally higher than those with the dominant platelet phase. In the solution and artificial overaging condition (T7), the tensile strength of the 206 cast alloys with more than 0.15 pct Fe is satisfactory, but the elongation does not sufficiently meet the minimum requirement of ductility (> 7 pct) for critical automotive applications. However, it was found that both the required ductility and tensile strength can be reached at high Fe levels of 0.3 to 0.5 pct for the alloys with well-controlled alloy chemistry and microstructure in the solution and natural aging condition (T4), reinforcing the motivation for developing recyclable high-iron Al-Cu 206 cast alloys.