T. PAN et al.: EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES ...
795–801
EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE
MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF THE ZL116
ALUMINIUM ALLOY AFTER VACUUM SUCTION CASTING
VPLIV PROCESNIH PARAMETROV NA MIKROSTRUKTURO IN
LASTNOSTI Al ZLITINE ZL116 PO VAKUUMSKEM LITJU
Tingting Pan
1
, Tao He
1*
, Yuanming Huo
1
, Xiaojun Shi
2
, Shoushuang Chen
3
, Kuanping Yu
1
,
Anna Sun
1
1
Shanghai University of Engineering Science, College of Mechanical Engineering, 333 Longteng Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai 201620,
China
2
Fangta Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Songjiang, Songjiang District Shanghai, 39 East Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 201600, China
3
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Quantitative & Technical Economics, 5 Jianguomennei Street, Beijing, 100732, China
hetao@sues.edu.cn
Prejem rokopisa – received: 2018-05-05; sprejem za objavo – accepted for publication: 2018-07-20
doi:10.17222/mit.2018.094
The selection of different processing parameters has an important influence on the microstructure and properties of castings.
The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of the processing parameters of vacuum suction casting (VSC) on the micro-
structure and mechanical properties of the ZL116 aluminium alloy. The ZL116 aluminium alloy rods were prepared under an arc
current of 300–400 A and a suction diameter of 3.0–3.5 mm using a vacuum-suction-casting machine. The microstructures of
the alloys rods were observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The mechanical properties of the alloy specimens
were measured with a universal tension tester, a microhardness tester and an electrical resistivity tester. The experimental results
show that the microstructure of the ZL116 aluminium alloy is more compact and uniform under an arc current of 300 A and a
suction diameter of 3 mm. The mechanical properties and the electrical resistivity are also improved due to an increase of the
strengthening phase. The microhardness reached 93.62 HV, the tension strength reached 199.79 MPa, and the total elongation at
the breaking point reached 30.60 %.
Keywords: vacuum suction casting, ZL116 aluminium alloy, microstructure, mechanical properties
Izbira razli~nih procesnih parametrov ima pomemben vpliv na mikrostrukturo in lastnosti ulitkov. Namen avtorjev te {tudije je
bil raziskati vpliv procesnih parametrov vakuumskega (~rpalnega) litja na mikrostrukturo in mehanske lastnosti aluminijeve
zlitine ZL116. Palice te zlitine so pripravljali v obloku s tokom od 300 A do 400 A in premerom ~rpanja taline 3 mm in 3,5 mm
z uporabo vakuumskega ~rpalnega litja. Mikrostrukturo izdelanih palic so opazovali pod vrsti~nim elektronskim mikroskopom
(SEM). Njihove mehanske lastnosti pa so dolo~ili s konvencionalnim trgalnim strojem, merilnikom mikrotrdote in merilnikom
elektri~ne upornosti. Eksperimentalni rezultati so pokazali, da je mikrostruktura ulitih palic iz Al zlitine bolj kompaktna in
enovita pri danih pogojih (300-400 A obloku in 3 mm premeru ~rpanja) vakuumskega litja. Mehanske lastnosti in elektri~na
upornost zlitine so bile prav tako izbolj{ane zaradi utrjevalne faze. Dose`ena mikrotrdota zlitine je bila 93,62 HV, natezna
trdnost 199,79 MPa in celotni raztezek do pretrga 30,60 %.
Klju~ne besede: vakumsko litje, aluminijeva zlitina ZL116, mikrostruktura, mehanske lastnosti
1 INTRODUCTION
The ZL116 aluminium alloy is popular as one of
Al-Si-Mg series of alloys due to its advantages of good
casting fluidity, good air tightness, low shrinkage and
low hot-cracking tendency.
1,2
It is most often used in
casting.
3
In recent years, the pursuit of light weight in the
aerospace and automotive industries also gives the
ZL116 aluminium alloy a wide range of applications.
4–6
However, there are a large number of solid solutions, an
uneven distribution of the microstructure and other
defects,
7
which seriously affect the mechanical pro-
perties of the castings. It has become an urgent problem
that needs to be solved for aluminium-alloy castings. The
solution is to select a reasonable set of process
parameters during the vacuum suction casting (VSC).
8
Experimental results in previous research showed
that the distribution and shape of the eutectic Si particles
in the matrix affect the mechanical properties of the cast
ZL116 aluminium alloy.
9
The small spherical and uni-
formly distributed Si particles can improve the mecha-
nical properties of the alloy,
10
but the impurity
introduced during the casting will seriously deteriorate
the mechanical properties of the alloy,
11
and other defects
such as residual holes, shrinkage porosity and other
defects also have an adverse impact on the alloy.
12
In order to improve the microstructure of aluminium
alloys, numerous researchers have made a lot of efforts,
including adding alloy elements.
13–15
Additionally, the
method of VSC can also refine the microstructure of the
alloy by setting the process parameters of the VSC.
16–19
However, there is a lack of studies on the effect of the
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 52 (2018) 6, 795–801 795
UDK 67.017:669.715:621.52 ISSN 1580-2949
Original scientific article/Izvirni znanstveni ~lanek MTAEC9, 52(6)795(2018)

processing parameters after VSC on the microstructure
and properties for the ZL116 aluminium alloy.
The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of
the processing parameters of the VSC on the microstruc-
ture and properties for the ZL116 aluminium alloy.
Firstly, the VSC experiment was performed to prepare
ZL116 aluminium alloy rods by changing the process
parameters of the arc current and the suction diameter.
Secondly, the microstructure observation and mechanical
property tests for the ZL116 aluminium alloy castings
were carried out to provide a reference for the optimi-
zation of the processing parameters of the VSC. Finally,
some conclusions are drawn.
2 EXPERIMENTAL PART
2.1 Specimen Preparation
The chemical composition of the ZL116 aluminium
alloy is shown in Table 1. The vacuum suction casting
equipment used in this experiment is a high-vacuum
arc-smelting and suction-casting system. The experimen-
tal instrument was vacuum pumped to 8.0 × 10
–4
Pa,
filled with argon, and its vacuum was –0.05 MPa to
maintain the pressure. The preparation process for the
ZL116 aluminium alloy rods was divided into four steps.
(1) Commercial pure aluminium (% 99.9 %), silicon,
magnesium and titanium particles are mixed according to
the mass fraction in Table 1. In order to avoid conta-
mination, the copper mould and the arc furnace cavity
should be wiped and blown dry with alcohol. (2) The
prepared materials were put into the crucible of the
electric arc furnace in the VSC system. (3) The residual
gases, such as oxygen in the furnace, are removed by
smelting a titanium ingot, and the matched materials are
repeatedly melted and electromagnetically stirred. (4)
The molten alloy liquid is transferred to the suction pot
in the arc furnace. Then, the argon in the mould chamber
was removed to create a negative differential pressure of
0.05 MPa, and the molten alloy liquid was sucked
quickly into the copper mould in the lower mould cham-
ber by the pressure difference and gravity (0.196 N).
Table 1: Chemical composition of the ZL116 alloy (mass fraction, %)
Elements Si Mg Ti Al
Mass fraction 6.5 0.35 0.1 %90.25
The main process parameters of the VSC include arc
current, suction, suction diameter and other parameters.
Hereby, two parameters, the arc current and the suction
diameter, were investigated and changed to determine the
effect on the microstructure and the properties of the
ZL116 alloy. The experimental arrangement of the diffe-
rent process parameters is shown in Table 2. The arc
current is selected as 300 A, 350 A and 400 A, and the
suction diameter is 3 mm and 3.5 mm. A total of 6
groups of vacuum-casting experiments were carried out.
Every group of VSC experiments was repeated three
times.
Table 2: Experimental arrangement for the setting of the different
process parameters
Number Arc current (A) Suction diameter (mm)
1 300 3
2 350 3
3 400 3
4 300 3.5
5 350 3.5
6 400 3.5
The size of the ZL116 aluminium rods after the VSC
experiment was &10 × 80 mm. The solid-solution heat
treatment was performed for the VSC specimens. The
instrument used is a SX2-series of box-type resistance
furnaces. According to the heat-treatment specification
of the GB/T aluminium alloy, the T6 heat treatment of
the ZL116 aluminium rods was carried out. First of all,
the holding temperature was set to 515 °C, with a
holding time of 6 h, and then it was placed in warm
water at 60 °C for quenching. After that, the artificial
aging treatment was carried out. The aging temperature
was 175 °C, the holding time was 5 h, and the air cooling
was carried out at the end.
2.2 Microstructure observation and property tests
After the heat treatment, the tension properties were
tested. The tension specimens were cut longitudinally
using a wire-cutting machine. The shape and the size of
the tension specimen are shown in Figure 1. The tension
specimens were polished with abrasive paper of type
#1200 to eliminate the cut marks left by the wire cutting.
The tension test was carried out on a JVJ-50s universal
T. PAN et al.: EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES ...
796 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 52 (2018) 6, 795–801
Figure 1: Shape and dimensions of the tension specimen

testing machine. A tensile speed of 1 mm/min was se-
lected and tested at room temperature. The micro-
hardness and electrical resistivity of the specimens were
measured using a MHVD-1000IS microhardness tester
and a FT-300 series resistivity tester.
After the tension test, the microstructure observation
was carried out. The observed specimens were prepared
as a small piece of 2 mm×2mm×2mm.Theobserved
specimens were polished using sand paper of type # 600,
# 800, # 1200 and # 2000 on a grinding machine. The
polished surfaces were prepared to a mirror-like con-
dition. Then they were washed repeatedly with alcohol,
then dried by a blower, and then etched in a 0.5 % HF
solution for 6 min. They were then washed repeatedly
with water and alcohol, and finally dried. A SU8070
SEM was used to observe the microstructures of the
specimens.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Effect of the arc current on the microstructure and
properties of the ZL116 Aluminium Alloy
A non-consumable electrode arc was used during the
vacuum melting. In the process of melting, the higher the
arc current, the higher the pouring temperature,
20
which
leads to the superheating of the liquid alloy. When the
superheating of the liquid alloy becomes higher, the
viscosity of the liquid alloy will be reduced. Thus, their
flow performance and the filling ability were improved.
However, when the arc current is too high, the molten
metal is easy to oxidize, and some of the alloy elements
are partially burned. Conversely, the alloy solution was
not melted fully, and some of the alloys elements were
not fully integrated into the metal alloy liquid. This has
an impact on the microstructure and the mechanical
properties of the alloy. According to the literature, when
the arc current is 300 A, the pouring temperature can
reach 750 °C, and at 350 A and 400 A, the pouring tem-
perature can reach 860 °C and 990 °C respectively.
21
Therefore, it is necessary to select an appropriate arc
current to control the quality of the casting in VSC.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show micrographs of the
ZL116 aluminium alloy under an arc current of 300 A,
350 A and 400 A at the suction diameter of 3 mm. Fig-
ure 2 shows the microstructure magnified 500 times by
the SEM. The dark-grey substrate is the Al matrix. The
strengthening phase with a bright white structure is
distributed in the matrix. Silicon particles with a dark-
grey irregular granular structure are uniformly distri-
buted in the matrix, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2a
shows that there are a large number of dendritic crystals,
granular Si phases and a solid solution. The strengthen-
ing phase in Figure 2b is obviously more than that in
Figure 2a.InFigure 2c, there are fewer strengthening
phases, a lot of maple-leaf crystals and some defects in
the matrix.
Figure 3 shows a SEM microstructure image mag-
nified by 5000 times. It can be seen from Figure 3 that
the microstructure distribution of the ZL116 aluminium
alloy is more uniform, and the strengthening phase is
T. PAN et al.: EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES ...
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 52 (2018) 6, 795–801 797
Figure 3: Micrographs of ZL116 aluminium alloy magnified 5000 times under a different arc current of a) 300 A, b) 350 A and c) 400 A at a
suction diameter of 3 mm (3 – Strengthening phase;4–Siparticles)
Figure 2: Micrographs of the ZL116 aluminium alloy magnified by 500 times under a different arc current of a) 300 A, b) 350 A and c) 400 A at
a suction diameter of 3 mm (1 – Al crystal;2–S olid solution;3–S trengthening phase;4–Siparticles; 5 – Defect; 6 – Dendritic crystal; 7 –
Maple-leaf crystal)

also more uniform when the arc current is 350 A. The
amount of solid solution at 350 A is smaller than that of
the arc current at 300 A and 400 A. The casting tem-
perature is improved directly by increasing the arc
current. The overheated alloy liquid causes an air gap
between the molten alloy and the copper mould due to
the thermal expansion,
20
which reduces the heat-transfer
coefficient between the molten alloy liquid and the
copper mould, and inhibits the heat conduction. There-
fore, the cooling rate is also reduced, which makes the
crystal structure of the alloy thicker and form maple-leaf
crystals.
Figure 4 shows a variation of the strengthening phase
and the solid solution in the volume fraction and the
grain size with different arc currents (300 A, 350 A and
400 A) at a suction diameter of 3 mm. The results come
from analysing the microstructure pictures using
Image-Pro Plus (IPP) image-analysis software. When the
arc current is 350 A, the strengthening phase and the
solid solution’s volume fraction increase to 8.29 % and
30.51 %, their grain sizes reduce to 5.5 μm and 6.00 μm,
and their number are more than that in arc current of 300
A and 400 A. Figure 5 shows the variation of the micro-
hardness, tension strength, total elongation and electrical
resistivity with different arc currents at a suction
diameter of 3 mm. With an increase of the arc current
from 300 A to 350 A, the microhardness of the alloy
increases by 18.85 %, the tension strength increases to
199.79 MPa, and the elongation at the breaking point
increases to 30.60 %, but at the same time, the electrical
resistivity of the alloy increases by 2.67 %. Then, when
the arc current is increased to 400 A, the microhardness,
tension strength and total elongation at the breaking
point of the alloy decrease slowly, in addition, the
resistivity of the alloy decreases rapidly. Combined with
the microstructure of the alloy (Figure 2, 3 and 4), it can
be seen that the microhardness, tension strength and total
elongation at the breaking point of the alloy with more
refined grains have been obviously improved. This also
verifies the relationship between grain size and alloy
strength – the Hall-Petch formula. According to the
distribution morphology and the refinement degree of the
Si phase, the strength and plasticity of the alloy are lower
when the silicon phase is thick and unevenly distributed,
which has a negative effect on the mechanical properties.
However, we can also see that the larger the amount of
strengthening phase and the finer the grains, the higher
the resistivity of the alloy. Because of the poor conduc-
tivity of metal compounds, their electrical conductivity is
much smaller than that of their constituent elements, so
the resistivity of the metal compounds is much greater
than that of the pure elements. In Figure 3 and 4 it can
be seen that in the microstructure of an alloy with an arc
current of 350 A, the number of reinforced phases is the
most, which leads to its high resistivity.
3.2 Effect of suction diameter on the microstructure
and properties of the ZL116 Aluminium Alloy
During the experiment, the molten alloy liquid
absorbs the casting valve by braking; it thus drives the
mechanical pump to remove the argon gas from the
mould chamber, forming a negative pressure. The alloy
liquid is drawn from the lower pressure smelting furnace
through the graphite mouth to the copper mould in the
lower-pressure higher die chamber. Because the space in
the mould room is fixed, the vacuum degree of the equip-
ment and the power of the mechanical pump are also
constant, so the suction in the experiment is also con-
stant. In the case of a constant arc current, the size of the
suction diameter will have a great impact on the casting
process.
With the change of the suction diameter, the filling
speed of the alloy liquid also changes. According to the
literature, for a suction diameter of 3 mm, the filling
speed is 0.79 m/s, and for 3.5 mm, the filling speed is
0.77 m/s. An eddy current occurred readily in the filling
process of the alloy liquid, which resulted in defects.
21
However, when the suction diameter becomes smaller
T. PAN et al.: EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES ...
798 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 52 (2018) 6, 795–801
Figure 5: Variation of a) microhardness, b) electrical resistivity, c) tension strength and elongation with arc current at a suction diameter of 3 mm
Figure 4: Variation of the strengthening phase and the solid solution
in a) volume fraction and b) grain size with the arc current at a suction
diameter of 3 mm

and the filling speed becomes slower, the alloy liquid
will lose heat and solidify quickly during the flow
process, which will lead to the formation of castings that
cannot be completed. In this experiment, it is difficult to
successfully complete the mould filling when the dia-
meter of the suction port is 2.5 mm, and it is determined
that the diameter of the suction mouth is 3 mm and 3.5
mm.
According to the analysis of the arc current above,
the structure and properties of the ZL116 aluminium
alloy are better when the arc current is 350 A. Here, we
choose the same arc current at 350 A.
The microstructures of the alloy castings with
different suction diameters are observed. Figure 6a and
6b are microstructural images at 500-times magnifica-
tion of the ZL116 aluminium alloy castings with
diameters of 3 mm and 3.5 mm, respectively. Figure 6c
and 6d magnify their microstructures by 5000 times.
There are more strengthening phases in the microstruc-
ture for the two alloy castings under the condition of an
arc current of 350 A. However, there are many tiny
pinhole defects in the microstructure of the alloy with a
suction diameter of 3.5 mm. It can be seen from Figure
6c and 6d that the size of the strengthening phase and
the solid solution are larger in the alloy structure with the
suction diameter of 3.5 mm. A lot of floc bulk crystal
structure appeared in the matrix. At the suction diameter
of 3 mm, both the strengthening phase and the solid
solution are relatively small in size. And, a small amount
of banded crystal structure was found, but no eddy
current is formed.
22
By reducing the suction diameter
and the filling speed, the jet width is increased, the eddy
current is reduced, and the defects such as pinholes in
the alloy structure are also reduced.
Figure 7 shows the variation of the strengthening
phase and the solid solution in the volume fraction and
the grain size with different suction diameters (3 mm and
3.5 mm) for an arc current of 350 A. The results come
from an analysis of the microstructure pictures by IPP.
And Figure 8 shows the variation of the microhardness,
electrical resistivity, tension strength and elongation with
different suction diameters for an arc current of 350 A.
When the arc current is 350 A, we compare the two
alloys, and we can see that the diameter of the suction
hole increases from 3 mm to 3.5 mm, the strengthening
phases and solid solutions’ volume fraction of the alloy
reduce by 2.38 % and 5.76 %, their grain size increase
by 19.09 % and 39.90 %, the microhardness of the alloy
decreases by 10.83 %, the tension strength is reduced to
190.75 MPa and the total elongation fracture is also
slightly reduced to 28.05 %, but at the same time there is
a greatly reduced resistivity of the alloy equal to
46.32 %. From the 5000× SEM microstructures we can
see that in the alloy with a larger suction diameter, the
crystal is larger, and the volume of the solid solution is
T. PAN et al.: EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES ...
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 52 (2018) 6, 795–801 799
Figure 6: Micrographs of ZL116 aluminium alloy magnified by a, b)
500 and c, d) 5000 under different suction diameters of a, c) 3 mm and
b, d) 3.5 mm at 350A arc current (1 – Al crystal; 2 – Solid solution; 3
– Strengthening phase;4–S iparticles;5–D efect;6–D endritic
crystal;8–Flocbulkcrystal)
Figure 7: Variation of the strengthening phase and the solid solution
in a) the volume fraction and b) the grain size with the suction
diameter for an arc current of 350 A
Figure 8: Variation of the a) microhardness, b) electrical resistivity, c) tension strength and elongation with the suction diameter for an arc
current of 350 A

also larger, but the quantity is less. This greatly reduced
the resistivity of the alloy by nearly half. In addition,
from the angle of the conductivity, Si is a kind of
semiconductor, its resistivity is 3 × 10
12
μ ·mm, which
is much higher than that of the aluminium substrate, so
the amount of free Si in the aluminium substrate
increases. It can directly reduce the effective conductive
area of the aluminium matrix and reduce the
conductivity of the alloy. However, the effect of Si on the
electrical conductivity of the alloy is also related to the
solid-solution treatment process and the morphology of
the Si in the aluminium matrix, and a large area of floc
crystal structure appears in the microstructure. The Si
particles in this part of the microstructure are small,
globular and uniformly distributed in them. We can see
that when the Si phase is spherical and smaller in size
and uniform in distribution, the conductivity of the alloy
will increase and the resistivity of the alloy will
decrease.
4 CONCLUSIONS
1) With the increase of the arc current, the defects
such as pinholes can be gradually reduced under an arc
current of 350 A. The microhardness, tension strength
and elongation of the ZL116 aluminium alloy are as high
as 93.62 HV, 199.79 MPa and 30.60 %, respectively.
However, when the arc current reaches 400 A, the micro-
structure of the alloy appears as a thick maple-leaf
crystal structure, which leads to a decrease of the
mechanical properties of the alloy.
2) With an increase of the suction diameter, the alloy
liquid enters into the mould easily to form an eddy
current, which has an impact on its mechanical proper-
ties, because of the uneven distribution of the micro-
structure. When the suction diameter is 3 mm, the
eddy-current region can be largely eliminated, and the
mechanical properties of the alloy can be improved.
3) The number of strengthening phases and the Si
phase affect the electrical resistivity of the alloy. The
uniform distribution of the small spherical Si phase can
reduce the electrical resistivity of the alloy; however, too
much of the strengthening phases causes a higher
electrical resistivity of the alloy.
Acknowledgements
This project is funded by the Shanghai Committee of
Science and Technology (Grant no. 16030501200) and
the Shanghai University of Engineering and Science
(Grant no. E3-0903-17-01006 & no. E3-0501-18-01002).
The Robot Functional Materials Preparation Laboratory
in Shanghai University of Engineering Science is also
gratefully acknowledged.
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T. PAN et al.: EFFECT OF THE PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES ...
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