Segregation Characteristics of Rheo-High Pressure Die Cast Al-Alloy 2139 Plates

Abstract

Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy 2139 is a wrought alloy that is heat-treatable and used in aerospace constructions. This is mainly due to the addition of silver in the alloy. Hot-tearing is a problem for casting wrought alloys with conventional liquid casting techniques. The risk is reduced by using rheo-high pressure die casting (R-HPDC) to allow the alloy to be used for near-net shape forming of components. This study investigates the segregation characteristics of R-HPDC alloy 2139. The effects of segregation on the age-hardening response as well as the tensile properties are studied. The chemical composition differences across the casting were found to aid in correlation of results. It is found that segregation occurs in three dimensions, namely from the surface to the centre of the casting, as well as across the width and length of the casting.