Iron impact on the quality of sand casting made from secondary AlSi7Mg0.6 alloy used in the automotive and aerospace industry

Due to the high demand for secondary alloys in the automotive and aerospace industry, this work investigates the effect of higher iron content on the quality of AlSi7Mg0.6 sand castings. Secondary-recycled Al-Si alloys contain an increased amount of impurities due to their remelting of scrap metal. One of the most unwanted impurities found in these alloys is iron. Iron leads to the formation of various Fe-rich intermetallic phases, whose morphology influences the mechanical properties even at low Fe content. It also promotes the formation of casting defects, such as porosity and shrinkage. The formation of porosity in secondary Al-alloys is another major aspect that can affect the final properties of castings. Since these materials are mainly used to produce castings for the automotive industry, such as engine blocks, cylinder heads, and so on, it is necessary to produce castings without any defects. Therefore, the quality of AlSi7Mg0.6 sand casting is investigated at lower iron content (0.128% wt. Fe) and compared to the higher iron content (0.429% wt. Fe), whereby a correlation between iron content and porosity is monitored.