Abstract. Improved mechanical and physical properties of an Al-Si alloy as a well-known casting alloy is strongly dependent upon the morphology of silicon particles, Al grains and also type of intermetallics which are in turn a function of alloy composition, solidification rate and heat treatment. This study aims at investigating the influence of the different solidification conditions (high pressure die, gradient and sand cast) and heat treatment on the microstructure (dendrite parameters, silicon particle morphology, intermetallic compounds), mechanical properties and fracture surface appearance of Al-9Si-4Mn alloy. To identify the features of microstructure and fracture surface analysis, a combination of optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) have been employed. The results show that the cooling rate has a strong effect on the evolution of intermetallics, morphology of the silicon and dendrite parameters. Introduction
