“…Approximately 100% of engine pistons, about 80–85% of exhaust manifolds, 70–75% of combustion engine cylinder heads and gearbox housings, and other power transmission components such as drive shafts, rear axles, and differential casings are manufactured in the form of metal casting [ 2 , 5 , 12 ]. Generally, the cylinder heads are manufactured using permanent mold casting/gravity die casting [ 6 , 9 , 13 ]. As these Al alloys possess only moderate hardness, strength, and ductility and feeble wear resistance, studies have focused on implementing a single technique or a combination of multiple techniques such as T 6 heat treatment, surface modification, addition of alloying elements, and reinforcing ceramic particles in the matrix (Metal Matrix Composites) [ 14 ].…”
The authors researched the physical, metallurgical, and mechanical characteristics of A354 alloy (Al-Si-Mg-Cu) reinforced with 5, 10, and 15 wt% of fly ash metal matrix composites. A baseline alloy and three composites were fabricated by a liquid metallurgy route and poured into a permanent mold to obtain cast rods of dimension Φ32 mm × 156 mm. The metallurgical characterization of the developed alloy and metal matrix composites was conducted using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray diffraction. All the developed composites showed a pore-free nature, but only A354 alloy reinforced with 5 wt% of fly ash (AF5) possessed a homogeneous distribution and perfect bonding of the fly ash with the A354 matrix. Therefore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis was performed on the sample AF5. All developed alloys and metal matrix composites were subjected to hardness and mechanical property tests. It was observed that the AF5 sample had 170 ± 5.6 HV and tensile strength of 216 ± 2.3 MPa, 18.8% and 24.8% higher than the A354 matrix, but the ductility (6.5 ± 0.43%) was reduced by 23% from the baseline alloy. Finally, the fractography analysis was conducted on all the samples using FESEM to analyze the fracture mode. The fabricated 5 wt% fly ash-based metal matrix composite showed better mechanical performance than other samples. Hence, sample AF5 is suggested for manufacturing components in automotive and structural parts.
“…Approximately 100% of engine pistons, about 80–85% of exhaust manifolds, 70–75% of combustion engine cylinder heads and gearbox housings, and other power transmission components such as drive shafts, rear axles, and differential casings are manufactured in the form of metal casting [ 2 , 5 , 12 ]. Generally, the cylinder heads are manufactured using permanent mold casting/gravity die casting [ 6 , 9 , 13 ]. As these Al alloys possess only moderate hardness, strength, and ductility and feeble wear resistance, studies have focused on implementing a single technique or a combination of multiple techniques such as T 6 heat treatment, surface modification, addition of alloying elements, and reinforcing ceramic particles in the matrix (Metal Matrix Composites) [ 14 ].…”
The authors researched the physical, metallurgical, and mechanical characteristics of A354 alloy (Al-Si-Mg-Cu) reinforced with 5, 10, and 15 wt% of fly ash metal matrix composites. A baseline alloy and three composites were fabricated by a liquid metallurgy route and poured into a permanent mold to obtain cast rods of dimension Φ32 mm × 156 mm. The metallurgical characterization of the developed alloy and metal matrix composites was conducted using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray diffraction. All the developed composites showed a pore-free nature, but only A354 alloy reinforced with 5 wt% of fly ash (AF5) possessed a homogeneous distribution and perfect bonding of the fly ash with the A354 matrix. Therefore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis was performed on the sample AF5. All developed alloys and metal matrix composites were subjected to hardness and mechanical property tests. It was observed that the AF5 sample had 170 ± 5.6 HV and tensile strength of 216 ± 2.3 MPa, 18.8% and 24.8% higher than the A354 matrix, but the ductility (6.5 ± 0.43%) was reduced by 23% from the baseline alloy. Finally, the fractography analysis was conducted on all the samples using FESEM to analyze the fracture mode. The fabricated 5 wt% fly ash-based metal matrix composite showed better mechanical performance than other samples. Hence, sample AF5 is suggested for manufacturing components in automotive and structural parts.
“…A good example of a sand core with complex geometry is the water jacket core ( Figure 1 ), which is used during the casting of cylinder heads. Special attention should be paid during the making of these cores, as their mechanical properties and dimensional stability could determine the soundness of the whole casting [ 3 , 4 ]. Figure 1 Water jacket core used during the manufacturing of cylinder heads.…”
The quality of chemically bonded sand cores used during the manufacturing process of cast components is highly dependent on the properties of the sand, which constitutes the refractory base media of the core. One of the main advantages of the application of different types of sands as molding aggregates that after casting, they can be reclaimed and can be used again during core shooting. The properties of the sand, however, could be remarkably changed during the casting and reclamation processes. This study aims to investigate the effects of the properties of the base sand on the mechanical strength and thermal distortion properties of samples made from new and thermally reclaimed silica sand. For this purpose, particle size analysis, specific surface area, and loss on ignition measurements, as well as differential thermal analysis coupled with thermogravimetry, were executed on the base sands, and the sand grains were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Test pieces were made with hot box and cold box technology for bending and hot distortion tests. It was found that by the utilization of reclaimed sand, cores with higher average bending strength and lower thermal deformation can be produced. These differences can be traced back to the more advantageous granulometric properties, lower impurity content, and lower thermal expansion of thermally reclaimed sand.
“…The cylinder heads, in the majority of the cases, are manufactured using the gravity casting process, poured into metal molds with their shape reflecting the external shape of the cylinder head, while inlet and outlet ports of the cooling system are modeled by sand cores positioned inside the molds [ 9 , 16 , 25 ]. Operational requirements imposed on heavy-duty cylinder heads, resulting from actual trends in engine development (downsizing), generate higher working temperatures and combustion pressures, enforcing the necessity of new technological solutions to assure strength and hardness in ambient and increased temperatures (up to 250 °C) [ 26 , 27 ] while maintaining high volumes of production.…”
The introduction of new design solutions of cast components to the powertrain systems of passenger cars has resulted in an increased demand for optimization of mechanical properties obtained during heat treatment, assuring—at the same time—a suitable level of production capacity and limitation of manufacturing costs. In this paper, research results concerning non-standard T6 heat treatment of a combustion engine cylinder head made of AlSi7Cu3Mg alloy are presented. It has been confirmed that the optimal process of heat treatment of this component, taking into consideration the criterion of material hardness, involves solutioning at a temperature of 500 °C for 1 h, and then aging for 2 h at 175 °C. As a result, HBS10/1000/30 hardness in the range of 105–130 was obtained, which means an increase from 35% to 60% in comparison to the as-cast, depending on the position of the measurement and spheroidization of precipitations of eutectic silicon.
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