The presence of Ni in the Al–Si alloy neutralizes Fe and reduces the tendency to form the Fe-rich β-Al5FeSi needle-like phase. At the same time,the Cu content in the α-Al matrix is reduced by forming phases between Ni and Cu,which leads to reduced precipitation hardening. On the other hand,the presence of brittle Al9FeNi phases and other phases are seen as negative effect of Ni additions to the Al–Si based alloys.