Enhancing Fe content tolerance in A356 alloys for achieving low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings

Low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings are the mainstream development direction of alu-minum alloys in the future. Enhancing the Fe content tolerance upper limit in casting aluminum alloys is considered an effective way to promote the application of recycled aluminum production. In this work, it was found that with the Ce and TiCN NPs (nanoparticles) addition simultaneously to A356 alloys, the acicular Fe-rich phases (beta-Al5FeSi) which damages the properties can be changed into beneficial phases (core-shell heterostructures) for the alloy, and hence the mechanical properties of A356 alloys can be im-proved. The TiCN nanoparticles and rare element Ce play crucial roles in the formation of core-shell het-erostructures. The formation mechanism of core-shell heterostructure was also systematically researched from the perspective of thermodynamics and kinetics. This study provides a simple and feasible strategy to eliminate the harmful effects of Fe impurity and contributes to the industrialization of low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.

Automated summary

Low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings are the mainstream development direction of aluminum alloys in the future. By adding Ce and TiCN nanoparticles to A356 alloys simultaneously, the mechanical properties of the alloy can be improved and the harmful effects of Fe impurity can be eliminated, which contributes to the industrialization of low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings.