Electron beam modification of the structure and properties of silumins with various silicon concentrations

This work intended to analyse the structure and properties of hypoeutectic silumin treated by a pulsed electron beam. The study has shown that the silumin surface modified by a pulsed electron beam fractures due to the formation and propagation of microcracks along the boundaries of high-speed crystallization cells. In the untreated material (the concentration of silicon in the alloy is irrelevant) microcracks tend to originate and propagate along the phase boundaries between aluminum and silicon. The research has revealed that the plasticity of irradiated AK5M2 silumin is 1.6 higher and the strength is 1.1 lower than these characteristics of the untreated material; the irradiated AK10M2H silumin fractures at higher (by ≈ 30%) applied stress and higher (by 30%) plastic deformation than the untreated material.