Studies on the effect of deformation and holding temperature on grain spherodisation in A356 alloy

Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloy-ing elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal clas-sifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable. About 85% of aluminium is used for wrought products, for example rolled plate, foils and extrusions. Cast aluminium alloys yield cost effective products due to the low melting point, although they generally have lower tensile strengths than wrought alloys. The most important cast aluminium alloy system is Al-Si, where the high levels of silicon (4.0% to 13%) contribute to give good casting characteristics. Alumi-nium alloys are widely used in engineering structures and components where light weight or cor-rosion resistance is required.