. Conclusions
The isothermal ageing studies of as-cast and thixoformed A356 alloy and in-situ A356–5TiB2 leads to the following important conclusions:
1.
Addition of 5 wt% to A356 alloy reduces the time to attain the peak hardness significantly. It is reduced by 33% in case of gravity-cast condition and 66% in the thixoformed conditions as compared to gravity cast alloy. The faster ageing is aided by high dislocation density created in the α-Al matrix by TiB2 particles and thixoforming process.
2.
The rate of age hardening (R) of the investigated alloy and composites increases in the order GCA