Recycled aluminium alloys manufactured at Stena Aluminium, in Älmhult, Sweden, are delivered in special designed transport containers, called thermoses. Thermoses are best described as an insulating layer protected by a steel cover with a heat loss of about 5 degrees/h. Three thermoses are transported by a truck, giving the possibility for a total capacity of about 24 tonnes delivered aluminium just-in-time to the foundry. By delivering a full load of liquid aluminium, about 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are saved, compared with delivering ingots. The aim of the paper is to assess the quality benefits, in terms of inclusions sedimentation and mechanical properties, assured by delivering aluminiummelts instead of ingots. The results indicate that materials produced by just-in-time melt delivery have slightly improved quality compared to ingots. The trends are explained in terms of quality, density and bifilm indexes, based on microstructural observations as well as tensile test data analysis.

The primary precipitation of Fe-rich intermetallics in AlSi9Cu3(Fe) type alloys is studied for different Fe, Mn, and Cr contents and cooling rates. Differential scanning calorimetry, thermal analysis, and interrupted solidification with a rapid quenching technique were used in combination in order to assess the nucleation temperature of sludge particles, as well as to follow their evolution. The results revealed that the sludge nucleation temperature and the release of latent heat during sludge formation are functions of Fe, Mn, and Cr levels in the molten alloy (i.e., the sludge factor, SF) and cooling rate. Moreover, it can be concluded that sensitivity to sludge formation is not affected by cooling rate; i.e., a decrease in the SF will reduce sludge nucleation temperature to the same extent for a higher cooling rate as for a lower cooling rate. The sludge formation temperature detected will assist foundries in setting the optimal molten metal temperature for preventing sludge formation in holding furnaces and plunger systems.

Morphology and growth of primary α-Al(FeMnCr)Si intermetallics have been studied in-situ during solidification of a commercial secondary aluminum alloy employing X-radiographic imaging combined with deep-etching. The α-Al(FeMnCr)Si intermetallics were found to nucleate primarily on surface oxides, and the continued growth yielded both rhombic dodecahedrons and elongated rod-like morphologies. Both morphologies were observed as hopper and massive types, where the hopper intermetallics had the higher growth rates. The growth rate, which determines the type, appears to be linked to nucleation frequency; higher nucleation frequency promoted massive types and lower nucleation frequency promoted hopper intermetallics. 

The relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties in cast aluminium alloys is very complex. This relationship is also strongly affected by the casting process and melt handling. In the current study the mechanical properties were investigated and correlated with microstructural features such as porosity, Fe-rich particles, SDAS, Si-length. Process quality measures such as bifilm index, density index, and sludge factor were also investigated. The aim of the work was to understand the critical interactions between material microstructure and process quality in the development of high performance materials.

The effect of Fe-rich particles has been a topic for discussion in the aluminum casting industry because of the negative impact they exert on the mechanical properties. However, there are still contradictions on the effects of various morphologies of Fe-particles. In this study, microstructural characterization of tensile tested samples has been performed to reveal how unmodified and modified Fe-rich particles impact on the tensile behavior. Analysis of additions of Fe modifiers such as Mn and Cr, showed higher amounts of primary Fe-rich particles (sludge) with increased porosity and, as result, degraded tensile properties. From the fracture analysis of tensile tested HIPed samples it could be concluded that the mechanical properties were mainly governed by the Fe-rich particles, which were fracturing through cleavage, not by the porosity.

To evaluate the role of Fe-rich intermetallics on crack initiation, two fully modified Al-Si alloys, one containing plate-like β-Fe and the second containing primary α-Fe intermetallics, were investigated by in-situ tensile testing in the scanning electron microscope. In the first alloy, large plate-like β-Fe intermetallics oriented parallel to the test direction were the first to crack at an elongation of about 1.8%. More transversely oriented intermetallics caused crack initiation in the matrix which linked up with the final fracture. In the second alloy, the cracking of α-Fe intermetallics initiated at an elongation of about 0.9%. It is concluded that large α-Fe intermetallics crack first and that clusters of α-Fe are the most potent crack initiation sites.

Al-Si-Cu alloys with high Fe content are widely employed in high pressure die casting (HPDC). Even if Feis usually considered an impurity in secondary aluminum alloys, leading to the formation of harmfulintermetallic compounds, it helps in mitigating or eliminating the problem of die soldering. As a result,secondary Al alloys with Fe content of about 1 wt% are commonly employed for the production of HPDCcastings. Aiming to change the morphology of harmful Fe-bearing phases towards less detrimentalmorphologies, proper alloying elements may be added to the alloys. Mn and Cr (both present in thealuminum scrap), as instance, are reported to prevent from the formation of the acicular β-Al5FeSi phase,leading to the formation of more compact and polygonal intermetallics. Such phases are usually referredto as “sludge” particles. The influence of sludge particles on mechanical properties of Al -Si-Cu castings isstill under investigation. The present work aims at evaluating the effect of impurities (Fe, Mn and Cr)typically present in secondary Al alloys on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the A380 (Al -Si-Cu) alloy. Samples with different Fe, Mn and Cr content were produced and processed through adirectional solidification equipment to obtain specimens with controlled SDAS (~10 μm). Hardness androtating bending fatigue tests were carried out at room temperature. Mechanical properties of the alloyswere then related to the microstructure, analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopy.