Technical Paper
Hot Chamber Die Casting Experience with a Creep Resistant Zn-Al-Ni Alloy
1998-02-23
980699
A creep resistant zinc-aluminum hot chamber die casting alloy has been developed to operate at service temperatures up to 120°C. The Zn-Al-Ni alloy consists of a ZA-8 matrix reinforced with 10 vol% of fine NiAl3 intermetallic particles. The alloy was hot chamber die cast with good distribution of the reinforcement in cast parts and little wear observed on the machine plunger assembly. Creep tests at 120°C indicated significant improvement of creep strength over conventional zinc die casting alloys. The creep mechanism appears to be related to the resistance of the strong, stable intermetallic particles to plastic flow of the matrix material.
