The Effect of Heat Treatment on Structural, Surface and Mechanical Properties of Al-Based Al-Sn-Si Alloys Used for Internal Combustion Engines and Bearings in the Automotive Sector
Salih BEKTAS Fazil Hüsem Fatma MEYDANERİ TEZEL
AbstractIn addition to the good mechanical and physical properties of the engineering materials used in today's industrial, the materials to be produced need to be more economical. Al-Sn-Si alloy has a composition which is accepted especially in the automotive industry due to its very good strength / lightness ratio, and it is preferred in engine, chassis support components and wheel rims for reducing the of the car weight, fuel economy, lower environmental emission values. However, the rapid changes in the automotive industry and the challenging competition ambiance push the manufacturers to meet customer demands, and they urge the manufacturing industry to appropriate methods in order to be able to respond to the demands with high quality. At this point, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the materials of the produced components in a good way and to carry out studies to meet their needs. Therefore, in this study, the effects on corrosion resistance and friction-wear properties of composition and annealing parameters of Al-based Al-Sn-Si alloy systems have commercial and industrial design have been experimentally investigated. Al-based Al-10Sn-xSi (x = 2, 4, 6) alloys are melted in the graphite furnace by using a vacuum melting furnace, and melting sample are poured into mold to obtain compression test samples. Then, a portion of the specimen is annealed at 400 C for 1.5 hours in the annealing furnace. For both annealed and non-annealed samples, surface morphologies with SEM, compositional analysis with EDX, crystallographic orientations with XRD diffraction pattern and crystal parameters, formed phases and distribution of these phases, grain sizes were investigated after metallographic processes. Vickers micro hardness values and compression tests were then applied for heat treated and non-heat treated samples. Accordingly, it has been determined that the strength of the heat treated samples and the increased amount of the Si element is increased.