Effect of Casting Process on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of ADC-12 Recycled Aluminum Alloy

In this paper, the influence of solidification process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ADC-12 recycled aluminum alloy was studied by steel mold casting and centrifugal casting after vacuum melting. The results show that centrifugal casting has a good effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ADC-12 recycled aluminum alloy. The eutectic Si phase changes from flake or platelet-like to net-like or pointlike, α-Al phase gradually becomes round, clear with even distribution, and β-Fe phase changes from thick and long needle-like to thin clustered spherical feature. Compared with the steel mold casting sample, the refinement of microstructure after centrifugal casting improves mechanical properties, which is reflected in the tensile strength increased by 37.6%, and the section elongation increased by 97.9%. The results prove that the centrifugal casting process can significantly improve the mechanical properties and structure quality of recycled aluminum alloy.