An Evaluation of the Effect of Ultrasonic Degassing on Components Produced by High Pressure Die Casting

Ultrasonic treatment is known to be efficient for aluminium melt degassing with the additional benefits of being both economical and environment friendly. This paper describes the effect of ultrasonic degassing on the preparation of an AlSi9Cu3(Fe) alloy for High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC). The degassing efficiency was assessed in terms of the indirect evaluation of the melt, by means of the reduced pressure test and the porosity evaluation of the cast parts. Additionally, the corresponding hydrogen content was estimated with an experimental equation reported in the literature. Ultrasonic degassing shows greater efficiency in terms of hydrogen removal from the melt than conventional N2 + Ar lance bubbling. Components produced by HPDC without degassing, with ultrasonic degassing and with lance degassing, were analysed by computed tomography and by metallography. The results show that the components produced by HPDC after ultrasonic degassing have a similar porosity level to components degassed with conventional lance bubbling, both showing an important improvement over components produced without degassing treatment. Hardness values were similar for all different treatment conditions and well over the minimum value established for the alloy by the corresponding standard.