Abstract

This paper presents a systematic parametric study of how incremental titanium additions (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 wt.%) alter the thermal conductivity, grain morphology, hardness, and tensile behaviour of Al6061 alloy intended for electronic heat sink service. Unlike prior investigations focused primarily on the Al6063–Ti system or on ceramic-phase reinforced aluminium composites, the present work isolates the grain-refinement and intermetallic-formation pathways in the 6xxx series with lower alloying additions (≤0.3 wt.%), manufactures specimens via stir casting followed by controlled homogenisation and T6-equivalent ageing, and evaluates performance against a thermal resistance index (TRI) to enable direct cross-study comparison. Thermal conductivity measurements were conducted according to ASTM E1225 across a 27–500 °C window. The results confirm a monotonic rise in conductivity from a baseline of 181 W/mK (undoped alloy) to 221.42 W/mK at 0.2 wt.% Ti—a 22.3% improvement—driven by quantifiable grain refinement (grain size reduced from 85 μm to 48 μm) and the associated redistribution of Mg and Si solute atoms. Brinell hardness increased from 98 to 120 BHN and ultimate tensile strength climbed from 250 MPa to 285 MPa across the same composition range, confirming thermal–mechanical co-enhancement. The study defines a composition window of 0.2–0.3 wt.% Ti as optimal for heat sink grade Al6061 and provides quantitative benchmarks against published Ti-doped aluminium alloy.

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