The present disclosure describes a process for producing an engine component, e.g., a piston for an internal combustion engine, where an aluminum alloy is cast by gravity diecasting, and an engine component composed at least partly of an aluminum alloy. The aluminum alloy includes silicon 8% to 17% by wt., copper 2% to 10% by wt., nickel 1% to 6% by wt., iron 0.1% to 3.5% by wt., magnesium 0.1% to 2% by wt., manganese 0.1% to 4% by wt., barium up to 4% by wt., titanium up to 0.5% by wt., zirconium up to 0.4% by wt., vanadium up to 0.3% by wt., phosphorus up to 0.05% by wt., chromium up to 0.3% by wt., and a balance of aluminum and unavoidable impurities.

A molten metal feed pipe for feeding a molten metal of an nonferrous alloy includes an outer tube made of a ferrous material, an inner tube made of a molten metal resistant material, and an intermediate member made of a compact of a fibrous non-organic material, which is disposed between the outer tube and the inner tube. The intermediate member, positioned in the central region of the molten metal feed pipe with respect to the longitudinal axial direction of the molten metal feed pipe, is disposed between the outer tube and the inner tube with the intermediate member being compressed in a radial direction of the molten metal feed pipe.

A casting mold and a production method thereof with which exfoliation of coating is controlled and liquidity of molten metal can be maintained are provided. This casting mold 1 includes a surface processing part 3 in which a plurality of groove parts 5 of a grid groove 4 formed in a surface of a molten metal contact part of a mold material 2 is coated with a carbon film 6. In this surface processing part 3, a width W1 of the groove parts 5 is 35 m or narrower, skewness Ssk of three-dimensional surface roughness is in a range of 0.8 to 0.2, and indentation hardness of the carbon film 6 tested by a nanoindenter is 1000 N/mm.sup.2 or higher. With this arrangement, it is possible to optimize the surface processing part 3 in such a manner that a penetration rate of the molten metal (aluminum 10) is controlled to be low and the coating (carbon film 6) is unlikely to exfoliate from the groove parts 5.

A process of heat treating an AlSiCuMgFeZnMnSr-TMs alloy, where the TMs include Zr and V, includes heat treating the alloy to produce a microstructure having a matrix with Zr and V in solid solution after solidification. The solid solution Zr, in wt. %, is at least 0.16%, the solid solution V, in wt. %, is at least 0.20% after heat treatment, and Cu and Mg are dissolved into the matrix during the heat treatment and subsequently precipitated during the heat treatment. The composition of the alloy, in wt. %, includes Cu between 3.0-3.5%, Fe between 0-0.2%, Mg between 0.24-0.35%, Mn between 0-0.40%, Si between 6.5-8.0%, Sr between 0-0.025%, Ti between 0.05-0.2%, V between 0.20-0.35%, Zr between 0.2-0.4%, maximum 0.5% total of other alloying elements, and balance Al.

Described herein are additive manufacturing methods and products made using such methods. The alloy compositions described herein are specifically selected for the additive manufacturing methods and provide products that exhibit superior mechanical properties as compared to their cast counterparts. Using the compositions and methods described herein, products that do not exhibit substantial coarsening, such as at elevated temperatures, can be obtained. The products further exhibit uniform microstructures along the print axis, thus contributing to improved strength and performance. Additives also can be used in the alloys described herein.

A method and machine for continuous casting of a strip of a plurality of serially connected battery grids. The machine may have a rotatable annular mold ring with a cavity at least in part having a plurality of grid molds, and a movable belt overlying at least the axial extent and a portion of the circumferential extent of the mold cavity in at least the area where liquid lead may be supplied to the mold cavity. To supply liquid lead to the mold cavity the mold ring may have a runner system communicating with the mold grids and opening to an end of the mold ring.

An aluminum alloy includes, in weight percent, 0.50-1.30% Si, 0.2-0.60% Fe, 0.15% max Cu, 0.5-0.90% Mn, 0.6-1.0% Mg, and 0.20% max Cr, the balance being aluminum and unavoidable impurities. The alloy may include excess Mg over the amount that can be occupied by MgSi precipitates. The alloy may be utilized as a matrix material for a composite that includes a filler material dispersed in the matrix material. One such composite may include boron carbide as a filler material, and the resultant composite may be used for neutron shielding applications.

The invention relates to a battery electrode foil comprising an aluminium alloy, wherein the aluminium alloy has the following composition in % by weight: Si: 0.01-0.15% by weight, Fe: 0.02-0.4% by weight, Cu: 0.08% by weight, Mn: 0.03% by weight, Mg: 0.03% by weight, Cr: 0.01% by weight, Ti: 0.005-0, 03% by weight, wherein the aluminium alloy can contain impurities up to a maximum of 0.05% in each case, in total up to a maximum of 0.15%, the remaining % by weight being aluminium, the proportion of aluminium however being at least 99.35% by weight; wherein the battery electrode foil has intermetallic phases with a diameter length of 0.1 to 1.0 m with a density of9500 particles/mm.sup.2. The invention further relates to a method for the production of a battery electrode foil, its use for the production of accumulators, and accumulators containing the battery electrode foil.

An aluminum alloy having about 0.03 wt % to about 0.50 wt % Niobium (Nb); about 0.03 wt % to about 0.50% Vanadium (V); about 0.03 wt % to about 0.50% Titanium (Ti), greater than 0 wt % to about 0.50 wt % Boron (B); and the balance is Aluminum (Al) and impurities. The alloy includes a weight percent ratio of (Nb+V)/Ti from about 1 to about 5, preferably from about 2 to about 3. The alloy may include a weight percent ratio (Nb+V+Ti)/B from about 1 to about 15, preferably from about 5 to about 10. The aluminum alloy may be form by incorporating 1 part master alloy, grain refiner, having about 1.5 wt % to about 4.0 wt % Niobium (Nb); from about 0.5 wt % to about 2.0% Titanium (Ti), and from about 0.2 wt % to about 0.8 wt % Boron (B) to about 27 to 80 part conventional aluminum alloy, by weight.

A method includes producing a light metal cast component from a melt of an aluminium casting alloy. The alloy contains, by weight, silicon with 3.5 to 5.0%, magnesium with 0.2 to 0.7%, titanium with 0.07 to 0.12%, boron with a maximum of 0.012%, and optionally further alloy elements together with less than 1.5%, the rest, aluminium as well as unavoidable impurities, wherein the melt is produced from a base melt, a first grain refiner of an aluminium-silicon alloy and a second grain refiner of an aluminium-titanium-alloy, wherein the melt, in relation to the total weight, contains in total an amount of 0.1 to 5.0% of the first and the second grain refiner; wherein the casting is carried out by a low-pressure method and the melt is acted upon by compacting after the casting.