Correlation between processing and quality of aluminium alloy castings (Correlazione tra parametri di processo di fonderia e qualità dei prodotti)

The influence of processing and process parameters plays a key role for the Aluminium foundry and transport industries as it affects the quality and soundness of the cast products. Particularly, the choice of a process chain in Aluminium foundry, otherwise of process parameters, influences the reject rates, hence casting costs, the process yield and the production rate. The process chain in Aluminium foundry is a complex sequence of processes and the final casting quality depends on many parameters. Several aspects of this subject are still not fully understood. The motivation of the research presented in this doctoral thesis work was, therefore, to fill this gap in knowledge. The study has aimed at understanding the influence of various process and process parameters of foundry on the quality of aluminium alloy castings and, in particular, Al-Si based castings. A literature review and a sufficient background of previously reported results on the influence of processing and process parameters on the quality of aluminium alloy castings, physical fundamentals as well as industrial challenges, motivation and goals were carried out. Special attention in Aluminium process chain has been given to: The modification of aluminium-silicon cast alloys: before casting aluminium alloys, the molten metal can be treated in order to improve the microstructure and properties of alloys by addition of small quantities of certain "modifying" elements. The pouring of molten metal into the mould: this is one of the critical steps in foundry technology, since the behaviour of the liquid and its subsequent solidification and cooling determine whether the cast shape will be properly formed, internally sound and free from defects. The chill casting processes, such as gravity, low-pressure and high-pressure die casting processes: the essential feature of chill casting is the use of permanent metal moulds, into which the molten alloy is either poured directly or injected under pressure, giving rise to the separate processes of gravity and low/high pressure die casting. Permanent moulds offer obvious advantages in terms of simplicity of production for large quantities of parts, but are subject to limitations yet to be discussed. The heat treating process applied to high-pressure die castings: conventional die castings are utilised to produce many products but unfortunately the presence of porosity limits the application. In addition to porosity, the microstructure inherent with conventional die casting could not meet the mechanical requirements needed for many applications. Subsequent heat treating, which can positively alter the microstructure, is rarely possible due to defects that emerge during thermal processing, such as blistering.