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The 18th International Conference on Aluminium Alloys (ICAA18) was held in Toyama, Japan from September 4 to 8, 2022, and the special issue entitled "Aluminium and Its Alloys for Zero Carbon Society" was published on Materials Transactions in February 2023 (Vol. 64, No. 2). The biennial conference covered a wide range of current trends in aluminium research; e.g. "modeling and simulation", "casting, solidification, recycling and refining", "additive manufacturing", "foams and composite materials", "mechanical properties and advanced processing", "thermomechanical processing, texture and recrystallization", "heat treatment, phase transformation and precipitation", "corrosion and surface treatments", "joining, emerging processes and multi material" and "advanced characterization". This article briefly reviews selected papers from the conference with significant experimental outcome and discussion on aluminium alloys. The author hopes that these papers are useful for all the researchers who develop next-generation technologies and materials concerning aluminium alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct water spraying (DWS) is an approach similar to ablation casting using direct impingement of water spray on the solidifying casting but is modified in that it no longer relies on eroding removal of the sand bound by water-soluble binders. A removable part of the sand mold is withdrawn during the process, and water is directly sprayed on the exposed casting surface. Two commercial casting Al alloys, i.e., A413 with short to zero and A356 with a wider freezing range, were processed by the DWS method. Comparison of the conventional and DWS-processed castings with respect to the microstructure and mechanical properties was evaluated via computer-aided thermal analysis, metallography, and tensile testing. The average ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increased from 126 to 193 MPa in A356 and 139–159 MPa in A413 by applying the DWS method. The elongation was increased from 2.8 to 11% in the DWS A356 and from 1.8 to 5% in the DWS A413. The secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) was decreased from 80 µm in A356 to 44 µm and from 68 µm in A413 to 32 µm in the respective DWS-processed counterparts. The experimental results confirmed that a longer freezing range is more favorable with the DWS process, producing improved castings with higher tensile properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]