{"id":2123,"date":"2025-04-30T17:53:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T09:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hexinmusu.com\/?p=2123"},"modified":"2026-03-03T18:16:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T10:16:49","slug":"about-detail-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hexinmusu.com\/en\/about-detail-50.html","title":{"rendered":"A356 Aluminum Alloy Comprehensive Guide: Properties, Applications and FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most widely used material for modern automotive cast aluminum alloys is the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) grade A356 alloy, which is equivalent to China's ZL101A, Japan's AC4CH, Germany's AlSi7<\/sub>Mg, France A-S7G03, Russia A\u043b<\/sub>In addition to the A356 alloy, Germany also uses AlSi9<\/sub>Mg, AlSi10<\/sub>Mg, AlSi11<\/sub>Mg, France also uses A-S11<\/sub>G, A-S12.5<\/sub> . These high Si alloys are not heat-treated, they have good liquid fluidity, make-up shrinkage ability, good casting performance, casting defects less. However, the mechanical properties and machine process performance is not as good as A356 alloy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"a356<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

chemical composition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
element symbol<\/th>Composition range (% mass, %)<\/th>Remarks (maximum allowable or other requirements)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Si<\/strong><\/td>6.5 - 7.5<\/td>Main alloying elements for improved fluidity<\/td><\/tr>
Mg<\/strong><\/td>0.25 - 0.45<\/td>Enhanced strength and heat treatment response<\/td><\/tr>
Fe<\/strong><\/td>\u2264 0.20<\/td>Impurity elements, which need to be strictly controlled<\/td><\/tr>
Cu<\/strong><\/td>\u2264 0.20<\/td>Impurity elements, excess reduces corrosion resistance<\/td><\/tr>
Zn<\/strong><\/td>\u2264 0.10<\/td>impurity element<\/td><\/tr>
Mn<\/strong><\/td>\u2264 0.10<\/td>Impurity elements, which may affect mechanical properties<\/td><\/tr>
Ti<\/strong><\/td>\u2264 0.20<\/td>Commonly used as grain refiner (can be added)<\/td><\/tr>
Al<\/strong><\/td>tolerance (i.e. allowed error)<\/td>base metal<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

mechanical property<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Performance Parameters<\/th>Typical values (sand casting)<\/th>Typical values after T6 heat treatment<\/th>note<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Tensile strength (Rm)<\/strong><\/td>160 - 190 MPa<\/td>230 - 260 MPa<\/td>Heat treatment significantly improves strength<\/td><\/tr>
Yield strength (Rp0.2)<\/strong><\/td>80 - 110 MPa<\/td>170 - 200 MPa<\/td>Yield strength nearly doubled after T6 treatment<\/td><\/tr>
Elongation (A50mm, %)<\/strong><\/td>2 - 5%<\/td>3 - 8%<\/td>Plasticity improves with heat treatment optimization<\/td><\/tr>
Brinell hardness (HB)<\/strong><\/td>60 - 80 HB<\/td>80 - 100 HB<\/td>Hardness is related to the heat treatment process<\/td><\/tr>
modulus of elasticity<\/strong><\/td>70 - 75 GPa<\/td>70 - 75 GPa<\/td>Less related to casting process<\/td><\/tr>
Impact toughness (Charpy)<\/strong><\/td>4 - 8 J\/cm\u00b2<\/td>6 - 10 J\/cm\u00b2<\/td>Affected by impurity content and grain refinement<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

physical property<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
physical property<\/th>Typical Value\/Range<\/th>note<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
intensity<\/strong><\/td>2.68 g\/cm\u00b3<\/td>Lightweight properties for lightweight designs<\/td><\/tr>
Melting point range<\/strong><\/td>557 - 613\u00b0C<\/td>Temperature range from solid phase line to liquid phase line<\/td><\/tr>
Coefficient of thermal expansion (20-100\u00b0C)<\/strong><\/td>23.0 - 24.0 \u00b5m\/m-K<\/td>Correlates with temperature change<\/td><\/tr>
heat conductivity<\/strong><\/td>130 - 160 W\/(m-K)<\/td>Good thermal performance<\/td><\/tr>
conductivity<\/strong><\/td>30 - 40% IACS<\/td>Moderately conductive, non-highly conductive alloy<\/td><\/tr>
Specific heat capacity (25\u00b0C)<\/strong><\/td>0.88 - 0.96 J\/(g-K)<\/td>Dependent on alloy composition and temperature<\/td><\/tr>
resistivity<\/strong><\/td>4.3 - 5.5 \u00b5\u03a9-cm<\/td>Calculated value of the reciprocal of the corresponding conductivity<\/td><\/tr>
modulus of elasticity<\/strong><\/td>70 - 75 GPa<\/td>Consistent with the modulus of elasticity in mechanical properties<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A356 Grade name and element content standard for different stages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The A356 alloy is subdivided into A356.2, A356.1, and A356.0, and their chemical compositions, respectively, are shown in the table below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A356 at different times<\/td>A356<\/td>Si<\/td>Mg<\/td>Ti<\/td>Fe<\/td>Cu<\/td>Zn<\/td>Mn<\/td>detergent<\/td>Other impurities<\/td><\/tr>
each<\/td>aggregate<\/td><\/tr>
procure (for an enterprise etc)<\/td>A356.2<\/td>6.5\/7.5<\/td>0.30\/0.45<\/td>0.08\/0.20<\/td>\u22640.12<\/td>\u22640.05<\/td>\u22640.05<\/td>\u22640.05<\/td> <\/td>\u22640.05<\/td>\u22640.15<\/td><\/tr>
melt<\/td>A356.1<\/td>6.5\/7.5<\/td>0.30\/0.45<\/td>0.08\/0.20<\/td>\u22640.15<\/td>\u22640.10<\/td>\u22640.10<\/td>\u22640.10<\/td>Sb=0.1\uff5e0.20 Sr=0.012\uff5e0.020<\/td>\u22640.05<\/td>\u22640.15<\/td><\/tr>
a finished product<\/td>A356.0<\/td>6.5\/7.5<\/td>0.25\/0.45<\/td>0.08\/0.20<\/td>\u22640.20<\/td>\u22640.10<\/td>\u22640.10<\/td>\u22640.10<\/td>Sb=0.08\uff5e0.18 Sr=0.008\uff5e0.018<\/td>\u22640.05<\/td>\u22640.15<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Corresponding international grades<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a high-performance cast aluminum alloy for global use, its international counterpart is clear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n