Grain refining of conventional and semi-solid A356 Al-Si alloy

The effect of inoculation has been studied on the microstructural evolution in conventional and semi-solid-metal (SSM) processing of A356 Al-Si alloy. It has been found that small additions of Ti-B shift the liquidus temperature up and the recalescence decreases. The nucleation event takes place at higher temperatures. Furthermore, the rate at which growth temperature increases is less than that of nucleation temperature and therefore more nuclei form with less potential for growth. In SSM processing refiner increases the alpha-Al percentage and reduces globule size. Improvement of primary particles' sphericity and globule size reduction are the main advantages of refiner addition. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.