Heat Treatment Optimization of High-Pressure Die Casting Automotive Components Made in High Recycled AlSi10MnMg Alloy

Aluminum alloys are widely used in automotive components due to their low density, which contributes to vehicle lightweighting and reduced CO2 emissions, as well as their favorable mechanical properties. High-recycled-content alloys offer the potential to further enhance sustainability, however, the presence of recycled-related impurities, such as Fe, can influence microstructure and mechanical behavior, making it important to investigate their effects for automotive applications. This study explores whether high-quality, high-recycled-content AlSi10MnMg automotive casting, combined with tailored heat treatments (HTs), can achieve the performance targets required for specific structural automotive components. Comprehensive microstructural characterization (including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction) was combined with an extensive mechanical evaluation through hardness, tensile, bending, and self-piercing riveting tests to assess compliance with the required automotive performance standards.