We are dedicated to the development of aluminum and its alloys with the aim of achieving the best possible (mechanical) properties. Since aluminum alloys are light and this has a favorable effect on fuel consumption, for example, we are looking for ways to achieve the highest possible mechanical properties. By reducing the size of the crystal grains (grain refinement) we can achieve this. Since there are different types of grain refiners on the market, we wanted to find out if we could select the best one based on electrical resistance measurements.
We had four different grain refiners available (Aleastur 3/1, Optifine 3/1, Optifine 5/1 and KBM 5/1) from which we prepared samples for chemical analysis, based on which we calculated the thermodynamic equilibrium solidification and equilibrium fraction of phases in grain refiners in the Thermo-Calc program. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed on all grain refiners which allowed us to predict the course of solidification and the phases formed in the grain refiners and their purity. The analysis of the size distribution of TiB2 and Al3Ti particles was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an optical microscope (OM). We also performed electrical resistivity measurements, based on which we calculated the electrical resistivity for each grain refiner individually. In the following, we checked the quality of the grain refiners with a simple thermal analysis (ETA) on the Al99.7 alloy, preparing 17 samples, pure Al99.7 and Al99.7 with added grain refiners. We also performed the crystal grain size analysis on the ETA samples using the mean intercept method.
The results of the analyzes showed that grain refiner B has the lowest Ti/B ratio, the thermodynamic calculation revealed the lowest proportion of Al3Ti and TiB2 phases, and the uniform distribution of these phases was also confirmed by the SEM analysis of the particle size distribution of these phases. DSC analysis revealed the highest melting and solidification enthalpy of grain refiner B, as it contained the fewest impurities. The electrical resistivity was also the lowest, which can be attributed to the least impurities and particles and the uniform distribution. The best grain refining results were shown by grain refiner B and C.
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