Effect of Cooling Rate on Morphology of TiAl3 Particles in Al-4Ti Master Alloy

Jianhua Zhao; Tao Wang; Jing Chen; Lu Fu; Jiansheng He

doi:10.3390/ma10030238

Effect of Cooling Rate on Morphology of TiAl3 Particles in Al-4Ti Master Alloy

Materials (Basel). 2017 Feb 27;10(3):238. doi: 10.3390/ma10030238.

Authors

Jianhua Zhao^{1

2}, Tao Wang³, Jing Chen⁴, Lu Fu⁵, Jiansheng He⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. zjh213@cqu.edu.cn.
² National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. zjh213@cqu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. 20113869@cqu.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. 20150902010@cqu.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. 20113754@cqu.edu.cn.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. jiansheng.he@cqu.edu.cn.

Abstract

The Al-4Ti master alloy was fabricated by aluminum (Al) and sponge titanium particle in a resistance furnace at different cooling rates. This work aims to investigate the relationship between the cooling rate and morphology of TiAl3. The microstructure and composition of master alloys at different cooling rates were characterized and analyzed by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and SEM with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that various morphologies of TiAl3 particles in the Al-4Ti master alloy could be acquired at different cooling rates. Petal-like, blocky, and flake-like TiAl3 particles in the Al-4Ti master alloy were respectively acquired at the cooling rates of 3.36 K/s, 2.57 K/s, and 0.31 K/s. It was also found that the morphology of TiAl3 particles in the prepared master alloy changed from petal-like to blocky, then finally to flake-like, with the decrease of cooling rate. In addition, the morphology of the TiAl3 particles has no effect on the phase inversion temperature of Al-4Ti master alloy.

Keywords: Al–4Ti master alloy; cooling rate; microstructure; morphology evolution; supersaturation.