Grain Refinement of Zn-50Al Alloy through the Addition of Zn-Al-Ti-C Master Alloy

Abstract

In this paper, two types of Zn-Al-Ti-C master alloy with different Ti/C ratios were produced throug a two-step method, characterized by XRD and SEM, and their refinement behaviors and mechanism in Zn-50Al alloy were studied. Both of the master alloys remarkably reduced the size of α-Al grains, impeded the dendritic growth and promote the equiaxed growth of α-Al grains in Zn-50wt.%Al alloy. The master alloy containing both TiC and dditional Ti in the Zn-Al matrix was found to have higher refinement ability than that containg only TiC. The refinement effect of both master alloys was greatly enhanced as the solidification temperature of Zn-50Al melt decreases. TiC particles were observed to be located at the center of α-Al grains and act as the nucleating substrate for α-Al. The decrease of melt solidification temperature and the presence of additional Ti atoms in the Zn-50Al melt cause higher melt supercooling, which further elevate the nucleating rate of α-Al grains on TiC particles and promote the equiaxed growth of α-Al grains.