Defining the problem

Introduction:
AlSi cast alloys are widely used in the automotive industry as popular alloys owing to their
excellent castability, weldability and corrosion resistance. Aluminium alloys also offer
important advantages in terms of their specific weight and thermal conductivity. AlSi cast
alloys are especially used in tribological applications. However, in the manufacturing
application absolute aluminium and its alloys still have few problems such as comparatively
low strength, unsteady mechanical properties. these problems can be overcome with
modification of microstructure. Silicon is a hard and wear resistant material. The hardness
and wear resistance of AlSi cast alloys increase with increasing the Si content. However, the
mach inability and ductility of these cast alloys decrease with the Si content. These problems
are caused mainly by the large primary Si particles in cast alloys Therefore, the Si content is
limited up to about 20% mass in commercial applications. Hyper-eutectic AlSi cast alloys
are usually treated with phosphorus to refine the primary Si particles. The size of Si particles,
however, is about 30mm at the minimum size in conventional gravity casting process. Laser
surface modification is ideally suited to refining the microstructure by rapid melting and
solidification, and changing the concentration of Si in the surface of substrate alloys by
alloying. In the laser surface alloying process, the Si content of the alloyed layer can be
increased up to 80% mass. The hardness and wear resistance of the laser alloyed layer
increased with increasing the Si content. On the other hand, in the laser melting process, the
size of the primary Si particle in hyper-eutectic Alhigh Si cast alloy can be reduced from 30
to 10mm due to rapid solidification. The wear resistance of the laser-melted layer was higher
than that of the substrate. But the influence of the size of primary Si particle on wear
resistance is not clear. Therefore, in the present work, I investigated the laser surface
remelting of hypo-eutectic AlSi cast alloy to improve the surface hardness and the wear
resistance by refining the primary Si particle. In the past years there has been interest in the
use of laser equipment for the understanding of corrosion-resistant surfaces on engineering
alloys related on steel. More recently, there has been a increasing interest in improving the
corrosion performance of aluminium alloys by laser process similar to those used for steel.
The process mainly involved are laser surface melting (LSM) and laser surface alloying
(LSA). A range of exclusive microstructures is produced by these processes resulting from
the non-equilibrium cooling environment established when the comparatively thin laser

melted surface layer is allowed to resolidify in contact with the unchanged substrate which
gives a large heat sink. Over the last 15 years, many studies on aluminium laser surface
treatment have been carried out with the objective of improving the mechanical
characteristics of cladded coatings (hardness, elastic modulus, wear resistance). Several
authors have already investigated the formation of intermetallic aluminium compounds
(alloys AlNi , AlFe, AlCu, AlMo and AlCr) and silicon precipitation in AlSi alloys.
It is of importance in such industrial applications as the production of automobiles and
aerospace equipment, the packaging of food and beverages, in construction, the transmission
of electric power, the transportation industry, the manufacturing of machinery and tools, and
in numerous other domains. The fact that aluminium is non-ferromagnetic adds to its
importance in the electrical and electronics industries. This element is also observably
nontoxic and is routinely used in the manufacture of containers for food and beverages. The
use of aluminum and its alloys has increased significantly over the last number of years,
successfully replacing iron and steel in a number of different applications. Furthermore,
aluminum becomes highly resistant after undergoing heat treatment and is noticeably simple
to mold as a result of its high ductility.
The principal industries where aluminium has increased in importance include the automotive
and aerospace domains; this was effectuated through the smelting of the metal and the
carrying out of suitable heat treatments for manufacturing cylinder heads, engine blocks, and
other crucial parts. The benefits derived from using aluminium for these parts include
reduction in car weight;

reduction in engine noise;

reduction in vibrations; and
absence of oxidation, unlike steel.
The use of silicon as the major alloying element in aluminium offers excellent properties such
as:
castability;
good weldability;
good thermal conductivity;

 excellent corrosion resistance; and

satisfactory retention of physical and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures.
Increasing the mechanical properties of Al-Si alloys depends on the complex interaction
between (a) chemical composition and the micro structural features developed during
solidification, (b) heat treatment methods, and (c) deformation processes. One of the most
widely used aluminium alloys in the aerospace and automotive industries are the Aluminium
silicon alloys. this may be attributed to ease of casting and their satisfactory ability to meet
the requirements imposed by mechanical properties such as the fact that the raw material for
processing comes mostly from recycled material. Machining is one of the most common yet
significant manufacturing processes known for the removal of material in the form of chips
from a workpiece, and it is also one of the most important of the manufacturing processes.
Actual machining tests are indispensable for determining machinability and, as a result,
machinability testing has become an essential activity in the field. Moreover, machining is
necessary where tight tolerance on dimensions and finishes is required. It is normal that the
machining is affected by several variables namely: work piece material, cutting tool material,
and machining parameters such as cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut. The most
common types of machining are traditional machining such as turning, milling, and drilling,
as well as nontraditional machining such as chemical machining, electrical discharge
machining (EDM), and electrochemical machining (ECM). With regard to the machinability
of aluminum alloys and castings, it is necessary to take into account several factors which
govern the condition of the work material and are determined by:

alloy chemistry, microstructure, and properties;

metallic and non-metallic impurities
casting method employed;
heat treatment;
porosity; and
physical and mechanical properties

Aluminium Silicon phase Diagram:

Aluminium-Silicon alloys are a family of industrially important casting alloys. the phase
diagram for the aluminum-silicon system is shown in below figure along with micrographs of
representative structures. The microstructure of 99.95 wt% Al has the typical euiaxed
structure of a pure metal. the microstructure of the 8 wt% Si alloy shows long dendrites of
primary alpha solid solution surrounded by the eutectic micro-constituent. In contrast, when
the primary alpha solid phase is the silicon-rich beta phase, as in the 20 and 50 wt% Si alloy,
the primary crystals have geometric shapes due to the pronounced difference between
aluminum, a metal, and silicon, which has predominantly non-metallic properties.

Al-Si alloys differ from our "standard" phase diagram in that aluminium has zero solid
solubility in silicon at any temperature. This means that there is no beta phase and so this
phase is "replaced" by pure silicon (you can think of it as a beta phase which consists only of
silicon). So, for Al-Si alloys, the eutectic composition is a structure of alpha+Si rather than
alpha+beta. The primary Si has a cuboidal form which can be seen in the micrograph. The

eutectic mixture, though, is non-lamellar in form and appears, in section, to consist of

separate flakes (although studies have shown that the flakes are, in fact, interconnected three
dimensionally). So, why do we care? Well, these coarse flakes of Si in the eutectic promote
brittleness within these alloys. Most Al-Si alloys used have a near-eutectic composition since
this gives a lower melting point and makes them cheaper to cast. If these alloys are to be of
any great use, we must improve their properties somehow and deal with the brittle Si flakes.
The sample has been metallographically prepared (mounted, ground and polished). No
etching is required as Si appears grey whilst the alpha phase appears white.

Alloys with silicon as the major alloying addition are the most important of the aluminum
casting alloys mainly because of the high fluidity imparted by the presence of relatively large
volumes of the Al-Si eutectic. fluidity is also promoted because of the high heat of fusion of
silicon(~1810 KJ/Kg compared with ~395 KJ/Kg for aluminium) which increases "fluid life"
(i.e. the distance the molten alloy can flow in a mould before being cold to flow further),
particularly in hypereutectic compositions. Other advantages of casting based on the Al-Si
system are high resistance to corrosion, good weldability and the fact that the silicon phase
reduces both shrinkage during solidification and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the
cast products. However, machining may present difficulties because of the presence of hard
silicon particles in the microstructure. commercial alloys are available with hypoeutectic and,
less commonly, hypereutectic compositions.
the eutectic is formed between an aluminium solid solution

SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE

2.1 INTRODUCTION
Aluminum is the second most abundant metallic element on Earth, after iron, and thus has
become an increasingly strong competitor for engineering applications since the 19th
Century. With a density of 2.7 g/cm , or one third that of steel which is 7.83 g/cm ,aluminum
is lightweight, easy to manufacture, has favorable mechanical strength, a highresistance to
corrosion, and excellent thermal and electrical onductivity.17'18'19'20'21'22,23' 24 Aluminum
casting alloys are the most versatile of all common foundry alloys. For large productions, the
three main casting processes are sand casting, permanent mold casting and

high pressure die casting. Figure 2.1 shows a picture of molten aluminum being poured into
a mold.

Figure 2.1 Aluminum smelting.

Aluminum-silicon casting alloys are used in the automobile industry, where there is an
increased demand for improved properties. The use of silicon as the major alloying element
in aluminum alloys introduces excellent properties such as castability, good weldability,
satisfactory thermal conductivity, excellent corrosion resistance, and excellent retention of
physical and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. Depending on the percentage of
the silicon content, Al-Si alloys are divided into three groups: (a) hypoeutectic alloys
containing 5-10% Si, (b) eutectic alloys containing 11-13% Si, and (c) hypereutectic alloys
containing 14-17% Si.1' 25' 26' 27' 28 It is necessary to consider the casting process, heat
treatment methods, and the chemical composition of the alloys,3'4 in order to determine the
microstructures of Al-Si casting alloys. The 319 and 396 cast alloys are typically used for the
production of aircraft pump parts, automotive transmission cases, aircraft fittings and
controls, water-cooled cylinder