Quantity, size and distribution of borides for aluminium grain refinement by neutron-induced autoradiography (NIAR). Pt. 2

Al-Ti-B grain refiners improve the cast structure of aluminium and its alloys, but also cause problems related to the great hardness of the borides and their tendency to agglomerate and settle. Accurate information about the distribution, quantity and size of the TiB2 particles is needed if material properties are to be improved and the quantity of additives minimized. This information is obtained mostly by NIAR. In laboratory-scale tests Al 99.8 and Al 99.5 were refined using different master alloys added in various quantities. In all cases the commercial master alloy gave the best refining effect. Besides boride particle size distribution and the presence of nuclei and nucleus stabilizers, morphological properties (duplex particles) are obviously of essential importance. It has been demonstrated that the TiB2 size distribution values determined by NIAR are comparable with those established by optical microscopy measurements. (orig.)