Publications

Aug, 2026

Conference Paper

RidgeAlloy: A high pressure die casting alloy that captures the approaching wave of automotive body sheet scrap

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has recently launched an effort to economically expand the North American aluminum supply chain by designing and developing a new family of Al-Mg-Si-Fe-Mn structural die cast aluminum alloys that can be made from up to 100% mixed 5xxx and 6xxx series automotive post-consumer sheet scrap and do not require heat treatment. The goal is to…

Aug, 2026

Journal

High strength and improved work hardening capability of immiscible Cu-Ag/Fe triphase multilayers: an in situ pillar compression study

Cu-Ag/Fe multilayers with nanoscale columnar grains were prepared by magnetron sputtering and subsequent annealing. In situ micropillar compression tests inside a scanning electron microscope reveal the high yield strength of over 1.7 GPa in as-deposited Cu-Ag/Fe multilayer, in comparison with the 1.5 GPa yield strength of Cu/Fe multilayer. However, the as-deposited Cu-Ag/…

Aug, 2026

Journal

Evolution of supersaturated metastable phase in sputtered Cu–Fe alloy

Equilibrium phase diagram of Cu and Fe predicts extremely limited solid solubility at room temperature due to their positive heat of mixing. However, nonequilibrium processing techniques can create supersaturated solid solutions with metastable phases. Here, we report depositions of equal atomic percentages of Cu and Fe at different substrate temperatures. Phase evolutions…

Aug, 2026

Conference Paper

Utilizing the Multifaceted Benefits of Sn-Microalloying to Design Dilute Al-Zr-Sn Conductor Alloys

May, 2026

Journal

A modified scheil approach for nucleation-dependent solidification pathways

As-solidified microstructures of near-eutectic alloys often contain multiple primary phases that are not expected from equilibrium phase diagrams. Such microstructures are caused by cooling-rate-dependent solidification pathways, a factor not captured by the Scheil–Gulliver model or variations thereof. Here, we present a model and algorithm that incorporate the critical nu…

Mar, 2026

Journal

Strain-rate hardening enhances fatigue resistance of AlSi10Mg alloy at 350°C

The high cycle fatigue behavior of laser powder bed fusion processed AlSi10Mg has been investigated at 350 °C (T/Tm ∼ 0.7). The alloy exhibited a fatigue strength of 30 MPa defined by runout after 107 cycles at a conventional loading frequency of 20 Hz, corresponding to a notable fatigue strength to ultimate tensile strength ratio of 0.73. The surprising fatigue resistance…

Mar, 2026

Conference Paper

Microstructural Heterogeneity in a High Pressure Die Cast Al-7Si-0.5Mn-0.2Mg Alloy Containing Elevated Fe Impurities

There is a growing trend to die cast structural automotive components from scrap aluminum sources to reduce embodied energy and cost. However, the ability to include most post-consumer scrap is severely limited due to the sensitivities of current industrial high pressure die cast (HPDC) Al alloys to Fe impurities introduced during the recycling process. This study characte…

Oct, 2025

Journal

A high strength Al-2Ni-0.5Zr conductor alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion

There is a current need for new aluminum alloy design strategies to target applications requiring high strength and conductivity with reductions in mass. A new lightweight Al-2Ni-0.5Zr (wt. %) conductor alloy was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion. A design of experiments probed the alloy's solidification cracking susceptibility. It was observed that solidification c…

Dec, 2024

Journal

Effect of Si impurities on microstructure and tensile properties of a cast Al-Mg-Fe alloy

Al-Mg alloys are attractive for structural castings owing to their superior strength and ductility in the as-cast state. However, given the tight tolerance for impurities, Al-Mg alloys produced from secondary sources still face multiple challenges. Here, we report the effect of increased Si impurity (0.05–1.6 wt%), which is commonly found in secondary Al sources, on micros…