Sr addition and its effect on the melt cleanliness of A356

Abstract

Strontium modification of Al-Si alloys has known to have several beneficial effects such as increased feedability, the formation of fibrous Si and increased mechanical properties. However, in the presence of Sr, during melting and holding durations, the oxide structure of the dross may change which leads to several problems during casting operations. In this work, the amount of Sr was changed and the melt was held for 1 h. Reduced Pressure Test (RPT) was used to asses melt quality change and it was found that cleanliness was increased due to the fading of Sr.