Mechanical and thermo-physical properties of rapidly solidified Al−50Si−Cu(Mg) alloys for thermal management application

Al−high Si alloys were designed by the addition of Cu or Mg alloying elements to improve the mechanical properties. It is found that the addition of 1 wt.% Cu or 1 wt.% Mg as strengthening elements significantly improves the tensile strength by 27.2% and 24.5%, respectively. This phenomenon is attributed to the formation of uniformly dispersed fine particles (Al2Cu and Mg2Si secondary phases) in the Al matrix during hot press sintering of the rapidly solidified (gas atomization) powder. The thermal conductivity of the Al−50Si alloys is reduced with the addition of Cu or Mg, by only 7.3% and 6.8%, respectively. Therefore, the strength of the Al−50Si alloys is enhanced while maintaining their excellent thermo-physical properties by adding 1% Cu(Mg).