Preparation of Al3Ti-Al2O3/Al Inoculant and Its Inoculation Effect on Al-Cu-Mn Alloy

• Published in: Materials Vol. 16; no. 15; p. 5264
• Main Authors: Ding, Jinhua, Wang, Chao, Lu, Cheng, Zhu, Guangming, Guo, Nana, Gao, Xujie, Wang, Xin, Cui, Chunxiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 27.07.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Al2O3 whiskers; Alloys; Alumina; Aluminum alloys; Aluminum base alloys; Aluminum oxide; Atoms & subatomic particles; Carbon; Copper; Copper base alloys; Crystallography; Grain refinement; Grain size; Graphite; High temperature; Industrial production; inoculant; Intermetallic compounds; Manganese; Master alloys; Mechanical properties; microstructure; Morphology; Nucleation; Orientation relationships; property; Rapid quenching (metallurgy); Raw materials; Scanning electron microscopy; Titanium aluminides; Whiskers (metals)
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma16155264

The grain size plays a pivotal role in determining the properties of the alloy. The grain size can be significantly decreased by adding inoculants. Aiming to address the shortcomings of existing inoculants, the Al3Ti-Al2O3/Al inoculant was successfully prepared using Al-Ti master alloy and Al2O3 whiskers as raw materials. With the aid of ultrasonic energy, the Al2O3 whiskers were uniformly dispersed within the inoculants. Under the combined action of ultrasonic and titanium, the Al2O3 whiskers were broken into small particles at high temperature. To enhance the morphology of Al3Ti and achieve even particle dispersion throughout the matrix, vacuum rapid quenching treatment was applied to the inoculant. The SEM test results indicated a significant reduction in particle size after vacuum rapid quenching. The Al3Ti-Al2O3/Al inoculants exhibited excellent grain refinement effects on the weldable Al-Cu-Mn alloy. Crystallographic calculations and HRTEM analysis revealed that Al2O3 and Al have orientation relationships, indicating their potential as effective heterogeneous nucleation sites. The mechanical properties of the Al-Cu-Mn alloy were obviously improved after the Al3Ti-Al2O3/Al inoculant was added.