MICROSTRUCTURE The material requirements of a DI Diesel engine piston can be summarized as follows: high fatigue strength at 200 C and

350 C after long-term exposure to temperature, good castability, low coefficient of thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity, high wear resistance, and low cost [SAE 2002-01-0493, pg 2]. The key to achieving all of these objectives resides in the microstructure of the piston material. The material microstructure can be manipulated to generate higher performance through alloying and grain refinement. In the past, most piston alloy development work was empirically carried out, yielding new materials quickly in order to meet the increasing requirements. In order to meet the high temperature strength of the piston alloy, copper and nickel were added. An increase in Cu will lead to an increase in the age hardening precipitate CuAl2, thus increasing the hardening effect of heat treatment. However, if Ni is not added in combination with Cu, the precipitates will coarsen when exposed to higher temperatures for extended periods of time. This is poor for strengthening and can lead to fatigue crack initiation. The addition of Ni will allow for thermally stable AlCuNi intermetallics. Although advantageous in strengthening, the addition of too much Cu and Ni will cause the intermetalics to group in clusters, which can serve as fatigue crack initiators. In brief, the addition of Silicon, Si, pushes the alloy to become more hypereutectic and leads to greater numbers of primary SI particles in the microstructure [SAE 2002-01-0493]. Controlling the amount of Si is very important as it can have some serious effects on the macro-behavior of the material directly relating to the pistons material requirements. Expanding further on the alloying of Cu and Ni, the addition of combinations of Cu, Ni,

Fe, Mn, Mo, Co, Zn, and Cr have been examined as well. A particular combination was found to act similar to Ni alone in yielding thermally stable intermetallics, while improving piston performance, but still had the same potential of forming large brittle clusters if not tightly controlled. The increase of alloying element additions leads to an extension in the temperature gap between liquidus and solidus, making alloys more prone to interdendritic shrinkage porosity. Grain refinement corrects this problem by providing nucleation centers for Al crystals and reduces the liquidus-solidus gap and the tendency for interdendritic porosity. The grain refinement process is very dependent on the solidification rate and temperature gradient across the die cavity in casting. The grain size directly relates to the coarseness of the intermetalic and Si clusters which can form. The reduction in the grain size of these clusters can dramatically reduce the chances of fatigue crack initiators.