Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284294

Microstructure and mechanical properties of hypo / hyper-eutectic AlSi

alloys synthesized using a near-net shape forming technique
M. Gupta*, S. Ling
Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260, Singapore
Received 30 May 1998; received in revised form 30 January 1999

Abstract
In the present study, three aluminumsilicon alloys containing 7, 10 and 19 wt % silicon were synthesized using a novel technique
commonly known as disintegrated melt deposition technique. The results following processing revealed that a yield of at least 80% can be
achieved after defacing the shrinkage cavity from the as-processed ingots. Microstructural characterization studies conducted on the
as-processed samples revealed an increase in the volume fraction of porosity with an increase in silicon content. Porosity levels of 1.07,
1.51 and 2.65% attained in the case of Al7Si, Al10Si, and Al19Si alloys indicates the near-net shape forming capability of the
disintegrated melt deposition technique. The results of aging studies conducted on the aluminumsilicon alloys revealed similar aging
kinetics irrespective of different silicon content. Results of ambient temperature mechanical tests demonstrate an increase in matrix
microhardness and 0.2% yield stress and decrease in ductility with an increase in silicon content in aluminum. Furthermore, the results of
an attempt to investigate the effect of extrusion on Al19Si alloy revealed that the extrusion process significantly assists in reducing
porosity and improving microstructural uniformity, 0.2% yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and ductility when compared to the
as-processed Al19Si alloy. The results of microstructural characterization and mechanical properties of aluminumsilicon alloys were
finally correlated with the amount of silicon in aluminum and secondary processing technique. 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Disintegrated melt deposition; Microstructure; Mechanical behavior; Aluminumsilicon alloys

1. Introduction
The ability of silicon to reduce the density and coefficient of thermal expansion and to improve the hardness,
ambient temperature mechanical properties such as
modulus and strength, thermal stability and wear resistance
of aluminum had been catalytic in engendering considerable interest in the materials science community to explore
the AlSi family of alloys for possible applications in
automotive, electrical and aerospace industries [14]. The
addition of silicon is made in both the hypoeutectic and
hypereutectic range depending primarily on the end application [16].
The existing literature survey indicates that the synthesis
of AlSi alloys is carried out principally by liquid phase
[7], liquidsolid phase [24], solid phase [1], and rapid
solidification [8,9] techniques. The selection of processing
technique for a given constitutional formulation, however,
*Corresponding author. Tel.: 165-874-6358; fax: 165-779-1459.
E-mail address: mpegm@nus.edu.sg (M. Gupta)

depends on the level of microstructurally governed end

properties, cost effectiveness, industrial adaptability and
reproducibility in terms of microstructure and properties
(such as physical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical etc.)
[10]. For example, liquid phase processes such as conventional casting are cost effective but can not be used to
make components for critical applications since the properties level that can be obtained are inferior as a result of
coarser microstructural features commonly associated with
conventionally cast materials. The solid phase processes,
such as powder based techniques, helps in realizing
superior properties but have limitations related to the
dimensions of the component and in addition involves high
cost. Two phase processes, on the other hand, are technically innovative and hold the promise to synthesize bulk
materials with superior properties, however, very limited
information is available regarding the processing, microstructure and properties of materials synthesized using
them. In order to circumvent the disadvantages associated
with these techniques, a relatively new technique commonly known as disintegrated melt deposition (DMD) is used

0925-8388 / 99 / $ see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
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M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

in the present study to synthesize AlSi alloys in both

hypo- and hypereutectic composition range. This technique, in the past, has been successfully utilized to
synthesize monolithic and reinforced materials [11,12] and
involves, in principal, the disintegration of superheated
molten metal slurry using inert gas jets followed by its
subsequent deposition on the metallic substrate. The
dynamic disintegration and deposition steps enables this
technique to synthesize bulk materials with improved
microstructural homogeneity when compared to conventional casting techniques [11,12].
Accordingly, the objective of the present study was to
investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of
the disintegrated melt deposited AlSi alloys (both in
hypo- and hypereutectic composition range) in order to
assess the feasibility of the disintegrated melt deposition
technique to synthesize the AlSi family of alloys. Particular emphasis was placed, in addition, to study the effect
of secondary processing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the hypereutectic (Al19Si) alloy
synthesized in the present study.

2. Experimental procedure

285

as the lubricant. Extrusion was conducted in order to study

the effect of secondary processing on the microstructural
and mechanical properties variation of as-processed AlSi
alloy.

2.4. Quantitative assessment of silicon

Quantitative assessment of Si in the as-processed and
extruded AlSi samples was carried out using standardized
energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) method.

2.5. Density measurement

The densities of the as-processed and extruded AlSi
samples were measured by Archimedes principle to
quantify the volume fraction of porosity [6,11,12]. The
density measurements involved weighing polished cubes of
the extruded samples in air and when immersed in distilled
water. The densities, derived from the recorded weights,
were then compared to the theoretical densities from which
the volume fractions of porosity were calculated. The
samples were weighed using an A&D ER-182A electronic
balance to an accuracy of 60.0001 g.

2.1. Materials
In this study, an aluminum alloy AA1050 ($99.5 wt %
Al) was used as the base alloy and silicon ($98.5 wt % Si)
was used as an addition element to synthesize hypo- and
hypereutectic AlSi alloys.

2.2. Processing
In the present study, synthesis of hypo- and hypereutectic AlSi alloys with starting weight percentages of 7, 10
and 20 wt % of Si was carried out using the DMD
technique. The synthesizing procedure involved: superheating of properly cleaned elemental materials to a
temperature of 9506108C in graphite crucible, impeller
assisted stirring to ensure complete mixing of elemental
materials followed by argon gas-assisted melt disintegration at 0.18 m from the melt pouring point and
subsequent deposition in a metallic mould (55 mm
diameter375 mm long) located at 0.25 m from the gas
disintegration point. The experiment was carried out under
controlled atmospheric conditions. The AlSi alloy ingots
obtained following processing were weighed in order to
determine the deposited yield of the starting raw materials.

2.3. Secondary processing

AlSi alloy ingot with starting weight percentage of
20% silicon was machined to a diameter of 35 mm and
then hot extruded at 3508C employing a reduction ratio of
13:1 on a 150 ton hydraulic press using colloidal graphite

2.6. Aging studies

Aging studies were carried out in order to obtain the
peak hardness time for the as-processed and extruded
AlSi samples. Specimens (10 mm diameter37 mm
height) were solutionized for 1 h at 5298C, quenched in
cold water and aged at 1608C for various intervals of time.
Rockwell superficial hardness measurements were made
using a 1.58 mm diameter steel ball indenter with a 15 kg
load using a GNEHM HORGEN digital hardness tester
following ASTM standard E18-92. A minimum of three
hardness readings were taken for each specimen.

2.7. Microstructural characterization

Microstructural characterization studies were conducted
on the as-processed and extruded AlSi samples in the
peak aged condition to investigate the grain morphology,
presence of porosity, morphological characteristics and
distribution of the secondary phases, and SiAl interfacial
characteristics.
Microstructural characterization studies were primarily
accomplished using an optical microscope and a JEOL
scanning electron microscope equipped with EDS. The
samples were metallographically polished prior to examination. Microstructural characterization of the samples was
conducted in both etched and unetched conditions. Etching
was accomplished using Kellers reagent [0.5 HF1.5
HCl2.5 HNO 3 95.5 H 2 0].

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M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

2.8. Mechanical behavior

Table 1
Results of the density and porosity determination

Vickers microhardness of the matrix of as-processed and

extruded AlSi samples was determined on a Matsuzawa
MXT50 Automatic Digital microhardness tester using an
indentation load of 100 g. Vickers microhardness measurements were made in order to provide insight into the
ability of secondary phases to strengthen the metallic
matrix.
Smooth bar tensile properties were determined on the
as-processed and extruded samples in the peak aged
condition following ASTM standard E8M-91. Tensile tests
were conducted using an automated servohydraulic Instron
8501 testing machine on 4 mm diameter specimens using a
crosshead speed of 0.254 mm per minute.

Alloy
designation

Processing
condition

Wt % Si

Density
(g cm 23 )

Porosity
(vol %)

Al7Si
Al10Si
Al19Si
Al19Si(Ext)

As-processed
As-processed
As-processed
Extruded

7
10
19
19

2.6460.01
2.6260.02
2.5560.01
2.6060.06

1.07
1.51
2.65
0.65

2.9. Fracture behavior

Fracture surface characterization studies were carried
out on the tensile fractured samples in order to provide
insight into the various fracture mechanisms operative
during tensile loading of the peak aged samples. Fracture
surface characterization studies were primarily accomplished using a JEOL scanning electron microscope
equipped with EDS.

3. Results

3.1. Processing
The deposited yield of the AlSi alloys with starting
weight percentages of 7, 10, and 20 wt % of silicon was
found out to be 89, 88 and 86%, respectively. The
preforms in all the three cases were associated with a small
shrinkage cavity on the top. After defacing the ingots so as
to remove the shrinkage cavity, the final yield was
determined to be 85, 84 and 80%, respectively. The overall
dimensions of the disintegrated melt deposited preforms
following defacing were approximately 35 mm in height
and 55 mm in diameter. The preform of the AlSi alloy
with starting weight percentage of 20 wt % Si was
subsequently machined to a diameter of 35 mm so as to fit
in the extrusion container. The specimens for heat treatment, microstructural analysis and mechanical properties
characterization were removed randomly from the as-processed and extruded rods.

3.3. Quantitative assessment of silicon

The results of standardized EDS chemical analysis
conducted for Si element determination in the as-processed
AlSi alloys with starting silicon weight percentages of 7,
10 and 20 and extruded AlSi alloy (with starting silicon
weight percentages of 20) revealed that approximately 7,
10, 19 and 19 wt % Si was retained, respectively, following DMD processing (see Table 1). Accordingly, these
materials will now be referred as Al7Si, Al10Si, Al
19Si, and Al19Si(Ext) in the forthcoming sections.

3.4. Density measurement

The results of density measurements conducted on the
Al7Si, Al10Si, Al19Si, and Al19Si(Ext) samples and
the volume percent of the porosity computed using the
experimentally determined density values are shown in
Table 1.

3.5. Aging studies

The results of aging studies conducted on the as-processed and extruded samples are shown in Fig. 1. The
results exhibit the presence of a hardness peak at 9 h for all
the samples. Both the as-solutionized and peak hardness
values were found to increase with an increase in the
silicon content in aluminum and from the as-processed to
extruded condition in the case of hypereutectic Al19Si
alloy. The results also reveal an increase in the magnitude
of age hardening with an increase in the weight percentage
of silicon in the case of as-processed samples. The

3.2. Macrostructure
Macrostructural characterization conducted on the machined and polished surfaces of as-DMD processed samples did not reveal the presence of either macropores or the
macrosegregation of silicon across the vertical and
horizontal sections.

Fig. 1. Aging curves of as-processed and extruded AlSi samples.

M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

287

percentage increase in hardness of the peak aged samples

when compared to that in the as-solutionized condition, for
example, was found to be 8.74, 19.91 and 29.91 for
Al7Si, Al10Si and Al19Si samples, respectively. The
magnitude of age hardening, however, was found to be
minimum (5.65%) in the case of Al19Si(Ext) samples
(see Table 2).

3.6. Microstructural characterization

The results of optical and scanning electron microscopy
revealed the presence of a-Al dendrites and eutectic silicon
phase in the case of Al7Si and Al10Si samples. The
presence of dendritic structure precluded the determination
of matrix grain size. Figs. 2 and 3 show the representative
optical micrographs showing the salient microstructural
features exhibited by Al7Si and Al10Si samples, respectively. In the case of hypereutectic as-processed Al
19Si alloy, the results of microstructural characterization
(see Fig. 4) revealed the presence of primary silicon (Si)
and eutectic silicon phases. The primary Si exhibited the
blocky morphology while the eutectic silicon exhibited
needle shape morphology. The size of the eutectic Si was,
however, found to be comparatively larger when compared
to the hypoeutectic (Al7Si and Al10Si) alloys (see
Table 3). For the extruded Al19Si samples, the results of
microstructural characterization studies revealed an increase in the volume fraction of the primary and eutectic
silicon phases and a reduction in their size when compared
to the as-processed Al19Si samples (see Fig. 5 and Table
3). Microstructural characterization studies, in addition,
also revealed the presence of nearly equiaxed, randomly
distributed, non-connected micron size porosity in all the
samples investigated in the present study. The interfacial
integrity between primary Si and the aluminum matrix was
found to be good and only in some instances interfacially
located voids were observed. The results of EDS point
analyses conducted in the near-vicinity of primary Si
particles in the case of as-processed Al19Si samples and
extruded Al19Si samples revealed the presence of segregation of silicon. One such representative variation in the
amount of silicon with increasing distance from primary
SiAl interface observed in the case of Al19Si(Ext)
samples is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 2. Optical micrograph showing the salient microstructural features

exhibited by DMD processed Al7Si samples.

Fig. 3. Optical micrograph showing the salient microstructural features

exhibited by DMD processed Al10Si samples.

3.7. Mechanical behavior

The results of ambient temperature microhardness and
tensile testing on the as-processed AlSi samples, aged to
peak hardness, are summarized in Table 4. The results in
Table 4 reveal an increase in microhardness and 0.2%

Table 2
Results of the aging studies
Alloy

As-solutionized
hardness (HR15T)

Peak hardness
(HR15T)

Peak aging
time (h)

Magnitude of age
hardening (HR15T)

Al7Si
Al10Si
Al19Si
Al19Si(Ext)

41.261.2
43.761.5
44.861.3
56.660.3

44.860.9
52.461.4
58.261.8
59.860.8

9
9
9
9

3.6
8.7
13.4
3.2

M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

288

Fig. 4. Optical micrograph showing the presence of primary silicon and

eutectic silicon in the case of DMD processed Al19Si samples.

Fig. 5. Optical micrograph showing the salient microstructural features

exhibited by DMD processed Al19Si(Ext) samples.

yield stress (0.2% YS) and decrease in ductility with an

increase in the amount of silicon in the aluminum matrix.
The ultimate tensile strength (UTS), however, increased
with an increase in silicon content from 7 to 10 wt % and
was found to be minimum in the case of as-processed
Al19Si samples. Following extrusion, Al19Si samples
exhibited the highest 0.2% YS, UTS, ductility and microhardness when compared to all the as-processed AlSi
samples investigated in the present study (see Table 4).

3.8. Fracture behavior

The tensile fracture surfaces of the as-processed and
extruded samples are shown in Figs. 710. The fractured
surfaces of the as-processed AlSi samples revealed an
increase in the degree of brittleness with an increase in the
silicon content in the matrix (see Figs. 79). In the case of
as-processed Al19Si samples (see Fig. 9), fracture surface
revealed the presence of cracked primary Si particles and
minimal evidence of matrix undergoing plastic deformation. For the Al19Si(Ext) samples, the fracture surface
revealed the presence of broken primary Si particles
similar to that observed in as-processed Al19Si samples

Fig. 6. Graphical representation of variation in silicon weight percent in

the SiAl interfacial region in the case of Al19Si(Ext) samples.

Table 4
Results of tensile properties measurements made on peak aged samples
Material

0.2% YS
(MPa)

UTS
(MPa)

Ductility
(%)

Microhardness
(HV)

Al7Si
Al10Si
Al19Si
Al19Si(Ext)

55.362.1
75.461.6
80.863.2
82.763.1

141.762.1
154.763.4
129.668.7
189.0612.1

12.260.5
10.360.8
2.361.9
21.468.8

38.561.2
39.260.4
43.462.1
59.260.5

Table 3
Results of microstructural characterization
Material

Al7Si
Al10Si
Al19Si
Al19Si(Ext)
a

Microstructural feature

Eutectic
Eutectic
Primary
Eutectic
Primary
Eutectic

silicon
silicon
silicon
silicon
silicon
silicon

Vf a

0.065
0.162
0.093
0.074
0.131
0.125

Parameter

Roundness

Eq. size (mm)

l (mm)b

2.6
2.7
77.5
7.5
65.5
3.7

10.2
6.7
254.0
27.5
181.0
10.5

N.D
N.D
7.34
3.21
5.13
2.64

Computed using image analysis.

Computed using the formula suggested by Nardone and Prewo [22]: l 5(lt /Vf )1 / 2 where l is the interparticle spacing and t, l and Vf are the thickness,
length and volume fraction of the secondary phases, respectively.
b

M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

289

Fig. 7. SEM fractograph showing the fracture surface features in the case
of Al7Si samples.

and the evidence of significant matrix plastic deformation,

in contrast to the predominantly brittle behavior exhibited
by the as-processed Al19Si samples (see Figs. 9 and 10).

4. Discussion

4.1. Processing
The results of the disintegrated melt deposition processing revealed three salient features in the as-processed
condition:
high yield of the hypo- and hypereutectic alloys
low volume fraction of porosity
complete retention of elemental silicon in aluminum in
the case of hypoeutectic formulations and 95% re-

Fig. 9. SEM fractographs showing: (a) general fracture surface features

and (b) presence of cracked primary silicon particles in the case of
Al19Si samples.

tention by weight in the case of hypereutectic formulation

Fig. 8. SEM fractograph showing the fracture surface features in the case
of Al10Si samples.

In the present study, DMD processed AlSi alloys

revealed high values of yield in both the as-processed
($86%) and finally machined ($80%) conditions irrespective of the lower volume of starting elemental materials. In the as-processed condition, high yield of alloys can
be attributed to the low gas flow rate associated disintegration of molten stream of alloy resulting in the
complete absence of overspray powders which are normally associated with conventional spray processing techniques adopted by other investigators [1315]. In machined condition, high yield of AlSi alloys can be
attributed to the formation of a shallow shrinkage cavity as
a result of enhanced solidification of the molten alloy on

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M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

Fig. 10. SEM fractograph showing fracture surface features in the case of
Al19Si(Ext) samples.

the deposition surface. The enhanced solidification can be

attributed to the convectional heat transfer associated with
the disintegration step of the DMD processing when
compared to the conventional casting techniques. The
results also revealed that the yield of the alloys in both the
as-processed and finally machined conditions decreases
with an increase in the silicon content.
Another characteristic feature associated with the DMD
processed AlSi alloys was the presence of low ($2.65%)
volume fraction of porosity (see Table 1) indicating the
near-net shape forming capabilities of the DMD technique.
The presence of lower volume fraction of porosity in the
as-processed condition ensures the realization of nearoptimum properties from the material precluding the
necessity to employ secondary processing techniques at
least for conventional engineering applications [16]. It may
further be noted that the volume fractions of porosity
revealed by AlSi alloys synthesized in the present study
are similar to the porosity levels reported in cases of other
near-net shape forming techniques [13].
Finally, the complete retention of silicon in the case of
hypoeutectic alloys and 95% by weight in the case of
Al19Si alloy can be attributed to the coupled effects of
the ability of aluminum to dissolve silicon completely at
9508C [17] and the kinetics of dissolution accomplished by
stirring conditions used in the present study. The stirring
procedure that involved stirring at 596 rpm for a time not
exceeding 10 min also helped to ensure uniform distribution of silicon in the ingot following solidification.

4.2. Microstructure
The results of microstructural characterization conducted
on hypoeutectic Al7Si and Al10Si alloys revealed, in
common, the presence of a-Al dendrites and eutectic
silicon (see Figs. 2 and 3). The presence of these phases
are in accordance with the equilibrium microstructural

phases predicted by binary AlSi phase diagram [17]. The

eutectic phase exhibited divorced morphology as a result
of high interfacial energy between the two component
phases and is consistent with the similar observations
reported elsewhere [18].
In the case of hypereutectic Al19Si alloy, microstructure characterization results revealed the presence of
primary silicon and acicular eutectic silicon phases in both
the as-processed and extruded conditions. The presence of
these phases along with the microstructural characteristics
exhibited by hypoeutectic alloys establishes the existence
of predominantly equilibrium solidification conditions
during disintegrated melt deposition processing of materials.
The results of quantitative microstructural characterization conducted on hypoeutectic AlSi alloys revealed an
increase in the volume fraction of eutectic silicon phase
and a marginal increase in its size with an increase in
silicon content (see Table 3). The increase in volume
fraction of eutectic silicon phase with an increase in silicon
content is in accordance with the Levers rule [19] while a
marginal increase in the size of eutectic silicon can be
attributed to an increase in the probability of silicon atoms
to attach themselves on the growing eutectic silicon phase.
The higher probability of silicon atoms to attach themselves to the growing eutectic silicon phase can be
attributed to their higher number and shorter travel distances as a result of higher weight percentage of silicon in
the aluminum melt [18]. This is further supported by the
fact that the room temperature solid solubility of silicon in
aluminum will be the same in the case of both the Al7Si
and Al10Si alloys due to the same processing parameters
and the near-equilibrium nature of the DMD processing
technique.
Regarding the hypereutectic Al19Si alloy in the asprocessed and extruded condition, the results of quantitative microstructural characterization revealed that the
extrusion process leads to an increase in microstructural
uniformity by decreasing the average size, interparticle
spacing and roundness of the primary and eutectic silicon
phases (see Table 3). The decrease in average size and
roundness of the primary and eutectic silicon phases can be
attributed to the partial dissolution of these phases during
hot extrusion and subsequent reprecipitation following
extrusion. It may further be noted that the dissolution of
silicon at the sharp tips and edges can be attributed to the
high solute concentration gradients in these regions in
accordance with the FreundlichThomson equation [20,21]
leading to the reduction in roundness. The decrease in
interparticle spacing of primary and eutectic silicon phases
can primarily be attributed to the decrease in their average
size in accordance with the formula, l 5 (lt /Vf )1 / 2 , proposed by Nardone and Prewo [22]. Finally, the increase in
the volume fraction of primary and eutectic silicon phases
(studied at magnification levels of up to 20003; see Table
3) following extrusion may be attributed to the coalescence

M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

of finer distribution of these phases at the extrusion

temperature leading to their increased presence at magnifications up to 20003. It may be noted that the coalescence
of finer phases assists in reducing the particle / matrix
interfacial area and the relaxation of misfit strains in the
matrix [23]. Further work is continuing to establish the
variation in distribution pattern of these phases (especially
in the finer size range) as a function of extrusion step using
high magnification metallography techniques.
Another interesting feature observed in the case of
hypereutectic Al19Si samples was the presence of silicon
segregation in the immediate vicinity of primary Si
particles (see Fig. 6). This can be attributed to the localized
presence of point defects and line defects in the interfacial
region of primary Si particles during solid state quenching
as a result of a difference in the coefficient of thermal
expansion between the aluminum matrix and Si particles
(CTE (Al) / CTE (Si) : 3.1 [24]). The presence of an
increased number of defects assists in promoting the
diffusion of alloying elements from the adjacent region
leading to the segregation in the interfacial region. These
results are also consistent with the similar studies conducted on the conventionally cast A390 alloy [4].

4.3. Aging studies

The results of aging studies conducted on as-processed
AlSi alloys revealed three salient features:
an increase in as-solutionized and peak hardness with
an increase in the weight percent of silicon,
an increase in the magnitude of age hardening with an
increase in the weight percent of silicon, and
an aging kinetics independent of weight percent of
silicon
The increase in the as-solutionized and peak hardness of
AlSi alloys with an increase in the weight percent of
silicon can be attributed to an increase in the volume
fraction of harder silicon based phases in the aluminum
matrix (see Table 3). The silicon based phases refer to
eutectic silicon in the case of hypoeutectic AlSi alloys
and primary and eutectic silicon in the case of hypereutectic AlSi alloys. It may be noted that the hardness of
silicon (10 9 kg m 22 ) [25] is significantly higher when
compared to that of aluminum (19310 6 kg m 22 for 99.6%
Al) [26].
The increase in the magnitude of age hardening with
silicon content may be attributed to the capability of
increasing volume fraction of silicon based phases to
generate increasing volume fraction of the defect structure
in the matrix (see Table 3). The formation of defect
structure can be attributed to a significant difference in
coefficients of thermal expansion of aluminum and silicon
phases (CTE (Al) / CTE (Si) : 3.1 [24]). Such a correlation
has been convincingly established by the researchers

291

elsewhere [27]. It may further be noted that the increased

precipitation of the secondary phases and hence the
increase in magnitude of age hardening may be attributed
to the ability of the defect structure to serve as a heterogeneous nucleation site during aging treatment. In related
studies, for example, investigators have shown using
transmission electron microscopy the precipitation of
strengthening phases on the lattice defects such as dislocations [28]. The progressive increase in the peak hardness
when compared to as-solutionized hardness with an increase in weight percentage of silicon also indicates that
much superior mechanical properties can be realized
following aging heat treatment. This is also consistent with
the work reported elsewhere [16] which suggest a clear
correlation between hardness and strength. The results are
also consistent with the similar findings made on an
Al7Si based alloy supplied by Duralcan, USA [6].
Regarding the influence of silicon content on the aging
kinetic, the results of the aging studies suggest that the
variation in silicon content in the range of 719 wt % was
not sufficient to bring the microstructural changes capable
of altering the aging kinetics of the aluminum matrix. This
is consistent with the work of other investigators who
suggested that the aging kinetics of the metallic matrix
containing the secondary phases with different CTE can
only be influenced if the variation in microstructure as a
result of their presence is significant [29].
Regarding the effect of extrusion, the results show that
the hot extrusion step used in the present study increases
the as-solutionized hardness significantly while maintaining the peak hardness similar to that observed in the case
of as-processed Al19Si samples (see Fig. 1). The increase
in as-solutionized hardness of the extruded samples may be
attributed to the reduction in the volume fraction of
porosity as a result of the extrusion (see Table 1) and a
minimal amount of age hardening suggests that the hot
extrusion step assists in establishing a uniform distribution
pattern of silicon based phases as a result of high temperature exposure (3508C) during extrusion and subsequent
cooling to room temperature resulting into partial dissolution and reprecipitation of silicon based phases in the
matrix. As a result of this, the effect of age hardening are
minimized as reflected in only a 5.65% increase in
hardness of the Al19Si(Ext) samples when compared to
29.9% in the case of the as-processed Al19Si samples in
the peak aged condition.

4.4. Mechanical behavior

The results of the mechanical properties characterization
revealed an increase in the matrix microhardness with an
increase in the weight percentage of silicon in the asprocessed AlSi alloys (see Table 4). This is consistent
with the increase in the cumulative volume fraction of the
harder silicon based phases (see Table 3). It may be noted
that an increase in the volume fraction of the harder silicon

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M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

based phases and the associated defect structure will lead

to higher constraint in the localized deformation of softer
matrix under the application of indentational load. In the
case of Al19Si(Ext) samples, however, a significant
increase in microhardness when compared to the Al19Si
samples can be attributed to the significant microstructural
refinement and enhanced microstructural uniformity commonly achieved following extrusion process [30].
The results of tensile properties characterization revealed an increase in 0.2% YS and a decrease in ductility
with an increase in silicon content. An increase in 0.2%
YS with an increase in the amount of silicon can be
attributed to the relatively higher constraint exerted by an
increasing volume fraction of the silicon based phases in
the aluminum matrix for the onset of the slip process. It
may be noted that an increase in the dislocation pinning
sites (such as silicon based phases and the associated
defect structure) delays the onset of plastic deformation
which is reflected in the values of the 0.2% YS obtained in
this study for AlSi alloys [31]. In a related work [26], for
example, it has been shown that general yield stress (so )
can be expressed as:

so 5 ss 1 si

(1)

where ss is the stress to operate the dislocation sources and

si is the friction stress representing the combined effect of
all the obstacles to the motion of dislocations arising from
the sources. In the present study, based on microstructural
characterization results (see Table 3), it is evident that an
increase in the amount of silicon leads to an increase in the
si as a result of an increase in the volume fraction of
silicon based phases. This is also consistent with the
similar 0.2% YS values obtained in the case of Al19Si
and Al19Si(Ext) samples (see Table 4). The same
amount of silicon in these two different category of
samples is indicative of the similar volume fraction of
silicon based phases [17] and hence the similar values of
0.2% YS (within each others standard deviation) arising
from similar si .
The decrease in ductility with the increasing amount of
silicon may be attributed to the increasing volume fraction
of plastically incompatible silicon based phases in the soft
and ductile aluminum matrix. It has been, for example,
established that the increasing volume fraction of plastically incompatible phases decreases the cavitation resistance
of the matrix leading to early microcracking and hence the
reduced ductility under the application of tensile loads
[3133].
The inferior ultimate tensile strength exhibited by Al
19Si samples when compared to Al7Si and Al10Si
samples may be primarily attributed to the coupled effects
of the presence of primary Si and an increase in the
porosity and volume fraction of plastically incompatible
silicon based phases. The porosity associated reduction in
strength has been previously established by other investigators for steels, copper and aluminum based alloys

[16,34]. Bocchini [16] and Payne et al. [34], for example,

asserted that the presence of pores lead to weakening of a
material by reducing the amount of stress bearing area and
therefore lowers the amount of stress the material is able to
withstand. Similarly, the presence of plastically incompatible phases lead to the stress accumulation at the interface
with the ductile matrix and under conventional tensile
loading microcracks / microvoids may appear either at the
pole or equator locations depending on the mechanical
properties of the strengthening phase [35], thus preventing
the optimum realization of UTS by the material.
The results of the tensile properties characterization
conducted on Al19Si(Ext) samples revealing an increase
in ultimate tensile strength and ductility when compared to
the as-processed Al19Si samples are consistent with the
dependence of these properties on the morphology of
plastically incompatible phases and the volume fraction of
porosity. Since the constitution of Al19Si and Al
19Si(Ext) samples is the same, the volume fraction of
silicon based phases will also be the same since the
identical near-equilibrium primary processing technique is
used to synthesize them [17]. The only difference may be
in the shift in the distribution pattern of the silicon based
phases towards the coarser side due to the hot extrusion
step used in the case of Al19Si(Ext) samples. This is
consistent with the results of the microstructural characterization studies (Table 3) which show an increase in the
volume fraction of micron-size silicon based phases and
more interestingly show the lower roundness (indicating
increasing equiaxed nature) values. The decrease in the
roundness value of the silicon based phases will be
instrumental in increasing the resistance of the aluminum
matrix to microcracking as a result of the decrease in the
stress concentration at the sharp edges, thus leading to
superior values of UTS and ductility. Similarly, a reduction
in porosity from 2.65 to 0.65% (see Table 1) may also be
attributed to an increase in UTS and ductility values of
Al19Si(Ext) samples when compared to Al19Si samples. This is consistent with the work of other investigators
[25] who reported an increase in the value of UTS by
about 51 MPa as a result of reduction in porosity by about
2% in the case of Al5Si samples heat treated to T6
condition. It may be noted that in the present study an
increase in UTS by about 51 MPa was realized as a result
of a reduction in porosity by about 2% in the case of T6
heat treated Al19Si samples. The tensile testing results
thus obtained are consistent with the microstructural
characterization results obtained in the present study and
the work of other investigators [25].

4.5. Fracture behavior

The results of fractographic studies conducted on the
hypoeutectic Al7Si and Al10Si samples revealed similar
fracture surface features exhibiting ample evidence of
matrix plastic deformation (see Figs. 7 and 8). The fracture

M. Gupta, S. Ling / Journal of Alloys and Compounds 287 (1999) 284 294

surfaces, in common, also showed the presence of relatively flat and featureless zones which may be indicative of
crack propagation along the embrittled boundaries of a-Al
dendrites / grains. This may be attributed to the presence of
the hard and brittle eutectic silicon phase as shown in Figs.
2 and 3. The fracture surface of Al19Si samples was
significantly different when compared to Al7Si and Al
10Si samples and exhibited a high degree of brittleness and
cracked primary silicon particles (see Fig. 9). This may be
attributed to the reduced ability of metallic matrix to
deform due to the increased number of crack nucleation
sites such as increased volume fraction of hard and brittle
silicon based phases and porosity. On the contrary, the
fracture surface of Al19Si(Ext) samples revealed evidence of significant matrix plastic deformation (see Fig.
10) and the presence of cracked and / or partially debonded
primary silicon particles. The plastic deformation ability
exhibited by Al19Si(Ext) samples may be attributed to
the significant refinement in the microstructure that follows
as a result of extrusion [30], lower volume fraction of
porosity [16,34] and smaller size [9] and reduced roundness of secondary phases (see Tables 1 and 3). It may be
noted that all these factors, in common, enhances the
plastic deformability of the material by increasing the
cavitation resistance of the material and thus minimizing
the premature failure. Finally, the presence of cracked
primary silicon particles on the fracture surface indicates
and confirms the good interfacial bonding between primary
silicon particles and the aluminum matrix as a result of the
extrusion process.

5. Conclusions
The primary conclusions that may be derived from this
work are as follows:
1. Disintegrated melt deposition processing can be successfully utilized to synthesize hypo- and hypereutectic
AlSi alloys.
2. The results of porosity measurements and microstructural characterization revealed that disintegrated melt
deposition processing is a near-equilibrium processing
technique capable of forming near-net shapes.
3. The results of aging studies indicate that an increase in
the amount of silicon in aluminum increases the assolutionized and peak hardness of AlSi samples and
does not affect the aging kinetics.
4. The results of mechanical properties characterization
indicate that an increase in the amount of silicon leads
to an increase in 0.2% YS and a reduction in ductility
of the as-processed AlSi samples from hypo- to
hypereutectic range. The extrusion step in the case of
Al19Si samples leads to a significant enhancement in
ultimate tensile strength and ductility values.
5. The results of fractographic analyses revealed a signifi-

293

cant increase in the degree of brittleness in the hypereutectic samples when compared to the hypoeutectic
samples. The results also revealed that the fracture
mode can be changed from predominantly brittle to
predominantly ductile following extrusion.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Mr. Tham Leung Mun
and Mr. Tung Siew Kong (National University of Singapore, Singapore) for their valuable experimental assistance
and for many useful discussions and to Ms Neerja Gupta
for improving the readability of this manuscript.

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