Assessment of Residual Stress in T5 Treated 319 Aluminum Alloy Engine Blocks Using Neutron Diffraction 2016-01-0353

Aluminum alloys have been replacing ferrous alloys in automotive applications to reduce the weight of vehicles. The engine block is a striking example of weight reduction, and is made of Al-Si-Cu-Mg (319 type) alloys. The wear resistance in the engine block is enabled by cast iron liners, and these liners introduce tensile residual stress due to a thermo-mechanical mismatch. Typically, an artificial aging treatment effectively reduces residual stress. In this study, neutron diffraction was used to measure the residual stress profiles along the cylinder bridge of a T5 treated 319 aluminum alloy engine block. Results indicated high tensile residual stresses (200-300 MPa) in the hoop and axial orientation at depths of 50-60 mm below the head deck. The high residual stresses were likely due to a combination of minimal stress relief during artificial aging and stress development during post process cooling.