Influence of Ni in high Fe containing recyclable Al-Si cast alloys

Abstract

Research in recycling Al-alloy is necessary for a sustainable industrial development. Iron present in the recycled Al-alloys deteriorates its mechanical properties. The challenge, therefore, is to tackle the iron impurity using different methodologies. The present study focuses on a strategy by which iron containing beta phase could be destabilized with the addition of Ni. A large number of microstructural image, lattice parameter data and mechanical properties have been obtained using optical microscopy with state-of-the-art image analysis, FESEM with EDS and EBSD, XRD, Vickers microhardness and universal tensile testing. Based on these results, the present work provide necessary insight about the effect of Ni addition in the recycled Al-Si cast alloys containing as high as 2 wt% Fe. Finally, it was concluded that up to 4 wt% Ni addition could be beneficial for Al-Si alloys Si content limited to 9 wt%.