Tailored growth of in situAl4SiC4 in laser melted aluminum melt

Abstract

The crystallization and growth of in situ crystals during non-equilibrium laser rapid melting/solidification process is an important research topic in the fields of both Applied Physics and Materials Science. The present paper studies the development mechanisms of in situ formed Al 4 SiC 4 ceramic phase within the selective laser melted SiC / AlSi10Mg composites. Two different-structured Al 4 SiC 4 having strip and particle morphologies were disclosed and their growth mechanisms were influenced by laser linear energy density (LED). An elevated LED resulted in a larger degree formation of strip-structured Al 4 SiC 4 with the gradually coarsened crystal sizes in its length and thickness. The homogeneously dispersed particle-shaped Al 4 SiC 4 exhibited a considerably refined nanostructure with a proper increase in LED, but showing a significant coarsening of particles at an excessive LED.