Al-Si-Cu alloy enhanced to high-temperature application by nickel addition

The present research evaluates commercial aluminum alloys 319 (AA319) and modified series by Ni additions on microstructure and mechanical properties through x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, hardness, and tensile tests. All AA319+X%Ni compositions (x = 0.5, 1, 2) improved both hardness and UTS at room temperature, T6, over-aging, and high-temperature conditions. UTS obtained an improvement of around 30% to AA319 + 1%Ni and AA319+2%Ni relatives to unmodified reference from T6 and high-temperature conditions. In addition, Ni increased remarkably the number of theta'-Al2Cu pairs and reduced their thickness within the aluminum matrix compared to commercial alloy. The synthesis methodology is also adaptable to the current aluminum casting industry, creating the material in ingots and finished products.