| Abstract Scope |
With recent exploration of Al-Ce based alloys, research interest has increased on Ce additions to traditional Al-Si based cast alloys. There are many potential applications of using Ce in Al-Si alloys, such as impurity collector, corrosion inhibitor, grain refiner, eutectic Si modifier, and coarsening inhibitor. However, currently available literature is missing systematic study and understanding of Ce additions to the major types of Al-Si alloys, namely Al-Si-Cu and Al-Si-Mg alloys. This study investigated Ce additions to these two alloy systems to determine the ability of Ce to collect Fe impurity, act as a grain refiner or Si modifier, and resulting mechanical performance. CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) modelling and experimental casting techniques were used to understand the effect of Ce level of the alloys and predict optimized compositions for improved properties. The effect of Ce additions on required processing conditions for the alloys is also investigated to understand scalability. |