The Effects of Two-Stage Aging on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the New Al-Si-Cu-Mg Alloy

Two-stage aging treatments were applied to Al-6Si-2Cu-0.5Mg casting alloy, and the influence of aging treatment parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated. The experimental results indicated that the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-6Si-2Cu-0.5Mg alloy were significantly influenced by the aging time and temperature, and the elongation remarkably increased with the aging time increasing before 7 h. In the case of the alloy aged at 200°Cfor 2h, higher hardness and tensile strength were obtained, which may be attributed to precipitation of a large amount of Cu-rich phases. However, the higher elongation was achieved in the alloy under 200°C aging treatment for 5h, while its hardness and tensile strength slightly decreased. It is mainly due to the amount of the Cu-rich phases decrease slightly, but the morphology of the phases evolved from plate-like to bulk-like structure.