Effect of Precipitating Phases on Tensile Strength and Microstructural Stability of a Spray-Deposited Al-Si-Fe-Mn-Cu-Mg Alloy

Spray deposition is a novel process which is used to manufacture rapidly solidified bulk and near-net-shape preforms. In this study, Al-20Si-5Fe-3Mn-3Cu-1Mg alloy was synthesized by spray deposition technique. The aging process of the alloy was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that two kinds of phases, i.e. S(Al2CuMg) and σ(Al5Cu6Mg2), precipitate from matrix and improve the tensile strength of the alloy efficiently at both the ambient and elevated temperatures (300℃). In addition, the σ-Al5Cu6Mg2 is a relatively stable phase which improves microstructural stability of the alloy.