how to heat treatment a356 alloy

by Zachary Blick Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

A356-T6 material is solution heat treated at 1000 degrees F for 6 hours then quenched and subsequently artificially aged at three different reference temperatures. The goal is to get near the maximum Vickers Hardness (VHN) without going over the top. The following explain the sensitivity of the hardening process relative to time at temperature.

Two heat treatments of A356 alloys with combined addition of rare earth and strontium were conducted. T6 treatment is a long time treatment (solution at 535 °C for 4 h + aging at 150 °C for 15 h). The other treatment is a short time treatment (solution at 550 °C for 2 h + aging at 170 °C for 2 h).

Full Answer

Can T6 heat treatment improve mechanical properties of A356 alloy?

There are two types of the heat treatment process for A356 aluminum alloy. T5; here the aluminum extruded from the extruder air cools naturally.The treatment process will result in casting with Webster scale hardness ranging in between 8-12.

How do you heat treat A356?

A solution treatment temperature of 540C is the most popular for A356, using a typical time of 6 h.

What is the heat treatment for A356 aluminum gravity castings?

Feb 08, 2018 ·

What is the temperature of commercial A356 aluminium alloy?

How is Aluminium alloy heat-treated?

The typical aluminum heat treatments are annealing, homogenizing, solution heat treatment, natural aging, and artificial aging (also known as precipitation hardening). Depending on the exact process being used, furnace temperatures can range from 240 to 1000°F.Nov 2, 2018

Can alloys be heat-treated?

Heat treatments can be used to homogenize cast metal alloys to improve their hot workability, to soften metals prior to, and during hot and cold processing operations, or to alter their microstructure in such a way as to achieve the desired mechanical properties.

What is T4 and T6 heat treatment?

For T4 heat treatment, composites were heat treated at 450 °C for 2–3 h followed by quenching in oil and then naturally aged for 6–40 days at normal room temperature whereas for T6 heat treatment, similar cycle was employed with the addition of artificial aging at 180–220 °C for 3–7 h followed by normal cooling.

What is T6 heat treatment for Aluminium?

T6 Heat Treatment is a two-phase process which is applied to Aluminium, Copper, or Silicon alloys to increase the strength of the alloy by as much as 30%.

What makes an alloy heat-treatable?

Heat Treatable Alloys

Heat treatable aluminum alloys consist of pure aluminum that is heated up to a certain point. Then the alloy elements are homogeneously added as the aluminum takes on a solid form. The heated aluminum is then quenched as the rapidly cooling atoms of the alloy elements are frozen in place.Jan 11, 2018

How many times can clad alloy be heat treated?

2. How many times can clad alloy be heat treated?. Option A. Once only.

What does T4 mean in aluminum?

The first digit after the T indicates a basic operation:

T4 – Solution heat-treated and naturally aged. T5 – Artificially aged after cooling from an elevated temperature shaping process. T6 – Solution heat-treated and artificially aged. T7 – Solution heat-treated and stabilized (overaged).

What is T4 heat treatment?

-T4: Solution heat treated and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition. Applies to products which are not cold worked after solution heat treatment, or in which the effect of cold work in flattening or straightening may not be recognized in mechanical property limits.

What's the difference between T4 and T6?

The main difference between the two thermostats is that T6 is a smart thermostat that can be controlled remotely through the Honeywell Home app and also has a geolocation based schedule. The T4 is a non-connected programmable thermostat that can be programmed and controlled only from the unit itself.Aug 31, 2021

What is difference between T6 and T7 heat treatment?

Heat Treating T Temper Codes

T4 - Solution heat treated, and naturally aged to a substantially stable condition. T5 - Cooled from an elevated temperature shaping process then artificially aged. T6 - Solution heat treated then artificially aged. T7 - Solution heat treated then overaged/stabilized.

What is the difference between T5 and T6 heat treatment?

T5 is a high-temperature forming + artificial aging. It is cooled by a high-temperature molding process and then subjected to a plastic aging state. T6 is solution heat treatment + artificial aging. After the solution heat treatment, the state of artificial aging is performed.Apr 28, 2020

How do you temper aluminum T6?

To achieve T6 temper, the process consists of three steps:

Solution Treatment: Heat the casting to ~1000 F for several hours.
Quenching: Drastically cool part in a water bath.
Artificial aging: Reheat the part a final time at ~300-400 F.

T6 Heat Treatment

T6 Heat Treatment is a two-phase process which is applied to aluminum castings to increase the strength of the alloy by as much as 30%.

Conculsion

T6 heat-treatment is able to improve the mechanical properties of gravity die-cast A356 parts. The hardness, tensile strength and elongation are improved to the greatest extent of 106 and 214%, respectively. As a professional aluminum foundry in China, we are able to deal with both A356 aluminum casting and T6 heat treatment.

Most recent answer

A solution treatment temperature of 540C is the most popular for A356, using a typical time of 6 h. However, the latest research indicates that shorter times can be used with dissolution of solutes, homogenization and spheroidisation of Si (in Sr-modified alloys) occurring in minutes.

Abstract

The normal T6 heat treatment process for cast A356 alloy generally requires about 15 h. This long-period procedure increases greatly the manufacturing cost and decreases the productivity in practical production.

Author information

State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die &Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

Additional information

Rui Du Male, born in 1993, Ph. D candidate. His research interests mainly focus on the light-weight materials, and metal matrix composites.

About this article

Lu, Sp., Du, R., Liu, Jp. et al. A new fast heat treatment process for cast A356 alloy motorcycle wheel hubs. China Foundry 15, 11–16 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41230-018-7058-x

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