Effect of melt overheating, cooling and solidification rates on Al–16wt.%Si alloy structure

Al–16wt.%Si alloy, cast into sand and metal molds, was remelted and cast again into sand and metal molds, respectively, modeling different solidification rates. The structures of the alloy, overheated during the remelting in the temperature range from 720 to 1050 °C and cooled with 60–70 and 150–200 K s−1 to pouring temperature, were investigated. Increasing the melt overheating temperature resulted in less sensitivity of the alloy microstructure to cooling and solidification rates. At 1050 °C the structure was well modified at all cooling and solidification rates without any addition of modifying elements.