Abstract
A eutectic Al Alloy containing 1.8 wt% Fe (Al-1.8%Fe) for electric vehicles was cast by using a permanent steel mold (PSMC) along with commercial-purity (CP) Al (99.7%). The microstructure of the as-cast Al-1.8Fe alloy was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The microstructure analyses revealed that the Al-1.8%Fe alloy consisted of primary Al phase, eutectic Al phase, micron-sized eutectic Al-Fe phase, and nano-sized eutectic Al-Fe phase. The mechanical properties including ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and elongation (ef) were evaluated by tensile testing. The electrical conductivity was measured by the phase sensitive eddy current method. The addition of 1.8 wt% Fe increased both the UTS and YS of the cast CP Al significantly to 86.5 and 28.3 MPa from 34.5 and 12.3 MPa. However, the ef and electrical conductivity of the cast alloy decreased to 19.8% and 48.4 %IACS from 33.8% and 58.5 %IACS. The large area fraction (9.5%) of the micron and nano eutectic Al-Fe phases in the PSMC Al-1.8%Fe alloy should be responsible for the difference in tensile and electrical properties between the PSMC Al-1.8%Fe alloy and the PSMC CP Al.