About - I FLOW FE PHASE

i Flow Fe Phase

Aluminum-silicon base alloys are widely used in castings (foundry industry) due to their excellent castability and high strength-to-weight ratio. In the Al-Si alloys, the presence of small amounts of Fe and Mn brings about a complicated microstructure due to the formation of a rich variety of intermetallic phases (IMPs) during solidification, which generally have a negative effect on the mechanical and physical properties of a as cast part.
The main goal of the project “iFlowFePhase” is to prepare new technology of Fe and Mn intermetallic phases treatment by fluid flow in Al-Mg-Si casting alloys. The project investigates problems of artificial fluid flow (melt stirring) influence on the growth, morphology and spatial arrangement of intermetallic phases in as-cast AlSi-base alloys containing especially Fe and Mn as alloying elements. Addition of Mg allows 3D visualization of IMPs, dendrites and eutectics.
The “iFlowFePhase” studies concerns detailed tasks: solidification of casting specimens in MagFound facility by the presence of fluid flow and without it (in different solidification conditions), detailed analysis of the microstructure of the Al-Si alloys (dendritic pattern geometry, length, thickness, and density of IMPs, three dimensional morphology of IMPs and dendrites and eutectics), numerical modeling for physical understanding of the mechanisms leading to the anticipated changes in microstructure by the presence of IMPs and fluid flows.