Enhancement of tensile properties of cast Al-Si-Fe alloys by annealing and cold rolling

Abstract

The recycling of aluminum alloy is limited by ductility reduction due to the accumulation of iron. In the literature, recycling of aluminum alloys up to one percent iron is mostly reported. In this work, annealed and cold rolled cast Al-9Si-2Fe alloy (wt.%), prepared from commercial aluminium, Al-50Si master alloy, and ferrosilicon, is reported. The as-cast microstructure comprising α-Al, elongated eutectic Si, and β-Al₉Fe₂Si₂ was refined by simultaneous annealing (535 °C) and step-wise cold rolling (55–80%). The decrease in the largest length, average length, and aspect ratio of eutectic Si and β-Al₉Fe₂Si₂ after 80% cold rolling resulted in a tensile strength of 170 MPa and percentage strain of 7.3% despite high iron content, and is comparable to existing literature.