METHODS OF INTRODUCING ALLOYING ELEMENTS INTO LIQUID MAGNESIUM

In recent years, magnesium alloys have gained widespread popularity as construction materials. This is due to their low density, high strength properties, and advances in their production technology. Properties of magnesium alloys depend primarily on the type, quantity, and quality of elements present in their composition. It is therefore necessary to carry out research on the further optimisation of the production technology of these alloys.This article presents the results of studies carried out in order to determine the type, form, and parameters of the process of introducing selected alloying elements to magnesium in a manner which enables the manufacture of alloys with predetermined chemical composition. As partof the work, elements such as Al, Zn, Mn, Zr, Si, Cu, Ca, as well as rare earth elements (RE) were introduced into the liquid magnesium. The alloying elements were introduced into the melt at different temperatures in either a metallic form or as master alloys. While conducting studies, respective solubility graphs were plotted for the alloying elements showing the time taken for each element to dissolve to the required form at a specific temperature and concentration. The studies resulted in the development of several techniques of introducing selected alloying elements, which enabled the manufacture of various types of alloys

CASTING SMALL-DIAMETER INGOTS FROM MULTICOMPONENT SILUMINS

The casting of ingots from aluminum alloys with a small range of solidification temperatures currently poses no major technical problems. On the other hand, problems do occur when multicomponent alloys containing elements such as Cu, Zn, or Mg are cast. This applies to alloysboth wrought and cast. For these alloys, the differences in temperature starting and ending the solidification process reach 160°C. The difficulties are even more pronounced when the diameter of the cast ingot is less than 100 mm. Casting small-diameter ingots requires a very carefulselection of parameters, which – for ingots with a diameter of about 70 mm – usually involve very high casting rates of up to 400 mm/min. The formation of a subsurface zone in the ingot along the crystallizer working length of several centimeters is very difficult at such a high casting rate and requires the precise determination of parameters for each alloy, particularly if this is a multicomponent alloy with a wide range of solidification temperatures. To this family of alloys belong multicomponent silumins, with the special case of phosphorus-modified near-eutectic and hypereutectic systems. Below are the results of technological tests as wellas structure examinations of ingots cast from silumins with different ranges of solidification temperatures. Ingots of 100-mm diameters were cast in a vertical system. In this arrangement, ingots with a diameter of 70 mm were also cast, using crystallizers normally operating in a horizontalcontinuous casting line

Laser Activated and Electroless Metalized Polyurethane Coatings Containing Copper(II) L-Tyrosine and Glass Microspheres

Polyurethane coatings containing copper(II) L-tyrosine and glass microspheres were laser irradiated and underwent electroless metallization. Various sizes of glass microspheres were incorporated into the polyurethane coating matrix in order to examine their effects on surface activation and electroless metallization. The surface of the coatings was activated by using ArF excimer laser emitting ultraviolet radiation (λ = 193 nm) using different number of laser pulses and their fluence. The effects of surface activation and metallization were evaluated mainly based on optical and scanning electron microcopies (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the presence of glass microspheres enabled the reduction in copper complex content, intensified the ablation process (higher cone-like structures created) and resulted in higher content of copper metallic seeds. On the other hand, the glass microspheres concentration, which was higher for lower size microspheres, was advantageous for obtaining a fully metallized layer

The Effect of 0.2% Addition of Mg, Co and Ce on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 1xxx Series Aluminium Alloy Castings Designed for Overhead Transmission Lines

The effect of 0.2% addition of Mg, Co and Ce to 99.9% cast aluminium was studied by evaluation of changes in microstructure and mechanical properties. The microstructure was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The Al99.9 alloy contained only Al-Fe-Si phase particles. Similar Al-Fe-Si particles were observed in alloy with 0.2% Mg addition, because this amount of magnesium was fully dissolved in the solid solution. The addition of cobalt resulted in the formation of Al9.02Co1.51Fe0.47 phase particles assuming the shape of eutectic plates. The electron backscattered diffraction map made for the alloy with 0.2% Co addition showed numerous twin boundaries with distances between them in the range from 10 to 100 µm. The addition of cerium was located in the grain boundary area. Cerium also gave rise to the formation of two types of particles, i.e. Al4Ce and Al-Ce-Fe-Si. The Al-Ce-Fe-Si phase is a nucleation site for the Al4Ce phase, which forms eutectic plates. The results showed that the introduction of additives increases the mechanical properties of the cast materials. The 99.9% cast aluminium has a hardness of 16.9 HB. The addition of 0.2% by weight of Mg, Co, Ce increases this hardness to 21.8 HB, 22.6 HB and 19.1 HB, respectively

Analysis of Inclusions and Impurities Present in Typical HPDC, Stamping and Extrusion Alloys Produced with Different Scrap Levels

The European Green Deal poses a two-pronged challenge for the automotive industry: migrating to solutions based on light structures, requiring lightweight concepts and light materials, while at the same time avoiding dependence on the importation of these advanced materials. Aluminium alloys are lightweight and cost-effective materials that can successfully meet the requirements of many structural applications; however, their production requires bauxite and other Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), such as Si and Mg. Aluminium alloys are fully recyclable, but scrap is usually contaminated and its use is related to an increment of impurities, tramp elements and undesired inclusions. Traditionally, the use of secondary alloys has been restricted to low-performance applications. The present work analyses the effect that the use of scrap has on the quantity of inclusions present in the alloy and on other properties relevant for material processing. This study was carried out using common alloys associated with three of the most common aluminium processes used in the car manufacturing industry: high-pressure die casting (HPDC) (AB-43500), extrusion (6063) and sheet metal forming (5754 and 6181). The reference alloys were mixed with different levels of scrap (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%), with an aim to keep the chemical composition as unaffected as possible. The inclusion level of the alloy was characterized using the Prefil Footprinter® test. In addition, the obtained materials, after being cast in an open mould, were subjected to metallographic characterization. Relevant properties were measured to assess the processability of the alloys for the corresponding transforming process using the flowability test for the HPDC alloy and high-temperature compression for the extrusion alloys. The results obtained suggest that the number of inclusions present in the melt highly increase with the amount of scrap used to produce the alloy. These inclusions are also related to a significant loss of flowability, but do not have a noticeable impact on microstructure