Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering (MS)

Administrative Home Department

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Advisor 1

Paul Sanders

Committee Member 1

Greg Odegard

Committee Member 2

Adam Loukus

Committee Member 3

Walt Milligan

Abstract

A comparative study of five aluminum alloys was performed to characterize the effect of solidification rate and quench rate on casting microstructure and properties. The alloys were cast in the geometry for Jominy End Quench (JEQ) testing, so as to take advantage of the JEQ test’s ability to give data on multiple quench rates in a single sample and illustrate the quench sensitivity of an alloy. While the Jominy End Quench test has been used in aluminum alloys, the effects of solidification rates have not been assessed in depth. The work done by other studies has either focused on a single alloy across multiple solidification rates, or on multiple alloys using a single solidification rate. To this end, three molds were created: a sand mold, a semi-permanent mold and a permanent mold, with the intent of casting JEQ bars out of multiple aluminum alloys for direct comparison. The tensile strength, hardness, porosity, and electrical conductivity were assessed, in an attempt to compare the quench sensitivities of the samples. This study will provide a starting point for more in-depth analyses of the alloys, i.e. the kinetics of precipitation strengthening over a range of length scales (cooling rates).

Included in

Metallurgy Commons

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