A Comparison of Microstructure and Casting Defects of Rheocasting and Thixocasting Al-Si-Mg Alloy

Abstract

In this paper, both thixocasting and rheocasting of Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloy (EN AC 42200) for the same part was performed. It was found that rheocasting of Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloy show a smaller primary Al grain size and significant improvement of cast defects compared with thixocasting of Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloy. This paper demonstrates that rheocasting of Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloy is more beneficial in terms of microstructure and cast defects compared with thixocasting of Al-7Si-0.6Mg alloy.