Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-Si-Fe-Cu-Mn-x Zn Alloys Processed by Extrusion

In this work, Al-0.15Si-0.2Fe-0.3Cu-0.9Mn alloys with different Zn addition (0, 0.15 and 0.3 wt%) were melted and extruded at 200 °C. The effect of Zn on the microstructure, texture evolution and mechanical properties of Al-0.15Si-0.2Fe-0.3Cu-0.9Mn alloys was investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and in the present study. In order to evaluate the mechanical properties, we implemented the tensile tests by a universal material test machine. Al-0.15Si-0.2Fe- 0.3Cu-0.9Mn-xZ resulted in the formation of Al-(Fe, Mn)-Si and Al-(Fe, Mn) intermetallic compounds. The formation of the intermetallic compound and this phase was broken in to small particles during extrusion. The ultimate strength and elongation of the as-extruded Al-0.15Si-0.2Fe-0.3Cu- 0.9Mn alloy were 96.51 MPa and 34.01%, while those of the Al-0.15Si-0.2Fe-0.3Cu-0.9Mn-0.3Zn alloy were 99.08 MPa and 36.21%, respectively. Al-0.15Si-0.2Fe-0.3Cu-0.9Mn alloys with Zn addition resulted in improving the strength with no reduction in elongation.