Influence of grain-refiner addition on the morphology of fe-bearing intermetallics in a semi-solid processed Al-Mg-Si alloy

© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2013The three-dimensional morphologies of the Fe-bearing intermetallics in a semisolid-processed Al-Mg-Si alloy were examined after extracting the intermetallics. α -AlFeSi and β-AlFeSi are the major Fe-bearing intermetallics. Addition of Al-Ti-B grain refiner typically promotes β-AlFeSi formation. β-AlFeSi was observed with a flat, plate-like morphology with angular edges in the alloy with and without grain refiner, whereas α -AlFeSi was observed as "flower"-like morphology in the alloy with grain refiner. © 2013 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International

Effect of iron on the microstructure and mechanical property of Al-Mg-Si-Mn and Al-Mg-Si diecast alloys

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Al–Mg–Si based alloys can provide super ductility to satisfy the demands of thin wall castings in the application of automotive structure. In this work, the effect of iron on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al–Mg–Si diecast alloys with different Mn concentrations is investigated. The CALPHAD (acronym of Calculation of Phase Diagrams) modelling with the thermodynamic properties of the multi-component Al–Mg–Si–Mn–Fe and Al–Mg–Si–Fe systems is carried out to understand the role of alloying on the formation of different primary Fe-rich intermetallic compounds. The results showed that the Fe-rich intermetallic phases precipitate in two solidification stages in the high pressure die casting process: one is in the shot sleeve and the other is in the die cavity, resulting in the different morphologies and sizes. In the Al–Mg–Si–Mn alloys, the Fe-rich intermetallic phase formed in the shot sleeve exhibited coarse compact morphology and those formed in the die cavity were fine compact particles. Although with different morphologies, the compact intermetallics were identified as the same α-AlFeMnSi phase with typical composition of Al24(Fe,Mn)6Si2. With increased Fe content, β-AlFe was found in the microstructure with a long needle-shaped morphology, which was identified as Al13(Fe,Mn)4Si0.25. In the Al–Mg–Si alloy, the identified Fe-rich intermetallics included the compact α-AlFeSi phase with typical composition of Al8Fe2Si and the needle-shaped β-AlFe phase with typical composition of Al13Fe4. Generally, the existence of iron in the alloy slightly increases the yield strength, but significantly reduces the elongation. The ultimate tensile strength maintains at similar levels when Fe contents is less than 0.5 wt%, but decreases significantly with the further increased Fe concentration in the alloys. CALPHAD modelling shows that the addition of Mn enlarges the Fe tolerance for the formation of α-AlFeMnSi intermetallics and suppresses the formation of β-AlFe phase in the Al–Mg–Si alloys, and thus improves their mechanical properties.EPSRC and JL

Stainless steels reinforced with intermetallics useful against corrosion and wear

Powder Technology Research Group has developed an innovative family of composite materials is presented. Metallic matrix are austenitic and ferritic stainless steels, and as reinforcements, intermetallics, have been used in quantities from 1% to 15% (vol.). These materials combine excellent properties against corrosion and wear, so they become very useful for structural applications, in areas like aerospace and automotive. The research group is trying to find companies in order to establish license agreements and/or collaborative projects for the technology development and validation. The companies profile sectors would be the manufacturers of materials, components or structures for aerospace and automotive areas.Contrato Programa de Comercialización e Internacionalización. Sistema Regional de Investigación Científica e Innovación Tecnológica. (Comunidad de Madrid; Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Effect of alumina-formers addition on the isothermal oxidation of TI-AL based intermetallics

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of adding the alumina former elements on the isothermal oxidation behavior of Ti-Al based intermetallics. High temperature oxidation test was carried out on Ti-Al based intermetallics namely the Ti-48Al-0.5Ag, Ti-48Al-2Cr-1.5Ag and Ti-48Al-2Cr- 1.5Ag-0.5W oxidized isothermally at 900°C. The kinetic rates of oxidation for the intermetallics were near to parabolic and the addition of Chromium (Cr) increased the kinetic rate of oxidation. Examination on the surfaces of oxide scales by using the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and the X-ray Diffraction (XRD), revealed that the phases formed on the scale surfaces were dependent on the composition of the base alloy and the kinetic rates of oxidation. Analysis of the scale cross section found that the adherence of the scale to the base alloy improved by the addition of the alumina former elements. Based on the Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spot and line scan analysis performed on the cross sectional of the scale, all the intermetallics showed an Al-depleted zone and the formation of aluminum oxide in the scale even at the early stage of the scale development. This indicated that the outward diffusion of aluminum to form Al2O3 is promoted by the addition of alumina former elements. Microhardness-indentation results revealed that the hardness values were different across the cross section of the scale. The hardness was the highest in the scale due to the presence of high TiO2 content

The third-order elastic moduli and pressure derivatives for AlRE (RE=Y, Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Ce) intermetallics with B2-structure: A first-principles study

The third-order elastic moduli and pressure derivatives of the second-order elastic constants of novel B2-type AlRE (RE=Y, Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Ce) intermetallics are presented from first-principles calculations. The elastic moduli are obtained from the coefficients of the polynomials from the nonlinear least-squares fitting of the energy-strain functions. The calculated second-order elastic constants of AlRE intermetallics are consistent with the previous calculations. To judge that our computational accuracy is reasonable, the calculated third-order constants of Al are compared with the available experimental data and other theoretical results and found very good agreement. In comparison with the theory of the linear elasticity, the third-order effects are very important with the finite strains are lager than approximately 3.5%. Finally, the pressure derivative has been discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to solid state communicatio

Modelling the corrosion behaviour of Al2CuMg coarse particles in copper-rich aluminium alloys

The corrosion behaviour of 2024 aluminium alloy in sulphate solutions was studied; attention was focused on the influence of coarse intermetallic Al2CuMg particles on the corrosion resistance of the alloy. Model alloys representative of the aluminium matrix and of Al2CuMg coarse intermetallics were synthesized by magnetron sputtering. Open-circuit potential measurements, current–potential curve plotting and galvanic coupling tests were performed in sulphate solutions with or without chlorides. Further explanations were deduced from the study of the passive films grown on model alloys in sulphate solutions. The results showed that model alloys are a powerful tool to study the corrosion behaviour of aluminium alloys