Processing and Microstructure Characteristics of As-Cast A356 Alloys Manufactured via Ultrasonic Cavitation during Solidification

Abstract Recent studies have showed that the microstructure and mechanical properties of A356 alloy can be significantly improved when ultrasonic cavitation and solidification processing is used. This is because during the fabrication of A356 castings, ultrasonic cavitation processing plays an important role in degassing and refining the as-cast microstructure. In the present study, A356 alloy and Al2O3/SiC nanoparticles are used as the matrix alloy and the reinforcements, respectively. Nanoparticles are injected into the molten alloy and dispersed by ultrasonic cavitation. Ultrasonic cavitation was also applied during solidification of these nanocomposites. The microstructure and nanoparticle distribution of the cast samples have been investigated in detail. The current experimental results indicated that ultrasonic cavitation during solidification will greatly improve the microstructure of the samples. Al2O3 and SiC nanoparticle reinforced nanocomposites have different nanoparticle distributions in the matrix.