Archeology-inspired enhancement strategy for aluminum alloys

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Publication Details

Journal
iScience
Published
2026-08-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117354
Primary Topic
Metallurgy and Material Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Archeology-inspired enhancement strategy for aluminum alloys

Zhichao Wei, Ri-ping LIU, Shidong Feng, Xinyu Zhang et al.
iScience
Metallurgy and Material Science
article

Archeology-inspired enhancement strategy for aluminum alloys

Zhichao Wei, Ri-ping LIU, Shidong Feng, Xinyu Zhang, Li‐Min Wang, Bo Xu, Zhigao Yin, Bing Zhang, Yingdan Liu, Zhen-Qiang Song, Bingtao Wang
article en

Abstract

Metal casting naturally produces a fine-grained chill layer at the mold interface, although this surface layer is commonly removed during machining. Inspired by archeological observations of ancient Cu-Sn bronzes, we investigated the effects of preserving this naturally formed metallic "skin" in modern A356 aluminum alloys. In bronzes, retaining the chill layer reduced corrosion current densities in neutral, alkaline, and acidic environments. In A356 alloys, preserving the chill layer increased ultimate tensile strength by up to 10%, improved elongation from 4.1% to 5.8%, enhanced fatigue endurance by 14%, and increased surface hardness by 20%. These improvements are associated with a naturally formed hierarchical grain structure, in which a fine-grained surface and a coarser interior promote Hall-Petch strengthening and hetero-deformation-induced hardening. These results highlight the functional significance of the chill layer and suggest its preservation as a design consideration for improving cast aluminum alloys without alloy redesign or additional surface processing.

iScienceVol. 29(9)
Yanshan University (CN), CITIC Group (China) (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
Metallurgy and Material Science
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