The grain refinement of Al-Si alloys and the cause of Si poisoning: Insights revealed by the interdependence model

Recent work has extended the Interdependence Model to the prediction of grain size of aluminium alloys when refined by Al-Ti-B master alloys. The relative contribution of Ti solute and TiB2 particles to the as-cast grain size was determined indicating the optimum level of addition required to provide cost effective use of master alloy. This paper quantifies the effect of Al5Ti1B master alloy additions on the grain size of Al-Si alloys. The Al-Si system is a special case where additions of Si above a few percent poison grain refinement resulting in larger grain sizes. Consideration of the complicating effect of Si poisoning on the prediction of the grain size of these alloys and possible approaches to dealing with these complications are presented. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.