PhD in Chemical and Materials Sciences

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Curriculum vitae

Phd thesis

Secondary aluminum alloys and innovative metallurgical processes for sustainable automotive applications

This research project is divided basically into two different pathways with a common goal.

The first topic of this Ph.D. is aimed at reducing or eliminating the subsequent heat treatments aimed at optimizing their mechanical properties to light components for the automotive sector made of Al-Si-Mg alloys using HPDC processes. This objective is intended to be achieved through the addition of grain refiners and modifiers of the eutectic. These treatments have a high impact on the economic and environmental impact of the industrial process.

The second topic of this Ph.D. involves the replacement of some HPDC processes with semi-solid processes of secondary alloys (Rheo-casting and GISS), which use solid-liquid slurry to feed the mold. Compared to the HPDC process, semi-solid processes allow for obtaining components with less microporosity, less waste, a more globular and uniform microstructure, and better mechanical properties. However, for these processes to be applied on an industrial level, it is necessary to understand how the composition of the alloy affects the extension of the narrow temperature window between the curve of formation of the primary α-Al phase and liquidus curves and the rheological property of the slurry. Using a Calphad approach and real tests, these topics will be studied, to be able to estimate the behavior, the quantity, and the type of intermetallics precipitate that form during the solidification of components in the casting process of scrap and secondary alloys of composition variable.

The research project has been co-financed by the PON D.M. 1061 scholarship in collaboration with 2a s.p.a. - Foundry Division