Development of Al-TiC Alloys Using Powder Metallurgy as Grain Refiners for Aluminium and Its Alloys

Abstract

Al-Ti-C master alloys have been widely investigated for many years as grain refiner for aluminium and its alloys. In this work, the Al-Ti-C master alloys are synthesized using powder metallurgy technique through the mixing of aluminium and TiC powders with different TiC contents 3.75 (3), 5(4), 6.25(5) and 7.5(6) Wt% TiC(Wt% Ti). The mixing powders with different contents of TiC were pressed in cylinder shape. The pressed specimens were sintered from 450 °C in a tube furnace under argon atmosphere for 2 hrs. The produced alloys before and after sintering are examined using SEM, EDX and XRD. The results indicate that, the Al-TiC alloy containing fine TiC particles dispersed in all matrix was successfully prepared. The prepared Al-TiC alloys with different contents of TiC were evaluated using the KBI test mold as grain refiner for pure aluminum and its alloys. The results indicate that the prepared Al-TiC master alloy is high grain refining efficiency for pure aluminum and its alloys.