Cross-section Effect on Mechanical Properties of Al A356 Alloy Tensile Specimens

Abstract

Abstract Tensile testing is an effective method to evaluate the mechanical property of aluminum alloys. In the present work, two types of standard tensile specimens with round (RD) and rectangular (RT) cross-sections were cast in the same permanent die and their solidification characteristics, microstructures, and mechanical performances were studied. The equilibrium solidification and Scheil solidification models of the studied A350 alloy were calculated by Pandat software. The experimental solidification and cooling temperature analysis revealed that the solidification platform and supercooling of the RD sample were 3 seconds wider and 1.2 °C bigger than those of the RT one. The microstructural analysis expressed that the mean grain diameter and secondary dendrite space of RD were 1.52 and 0.75 um smaller than those of RT; hence, the strength and elongation of RD were better than those of RT. Brinell hardness tests and differential scanning calorimetry were also carried out. According to the obtained data, the round specimen was selected for tensile test because of its superior performance.