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The effect of Sc on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–Si–Mg–Cu–Ti alloy was investigated. Results obtained in this research indicate that, with increasing Sc content, the microstru...

An addition of a high level of 0.6 wt% Sc imposed a remarkable grain refining effect on Al-5Mg alloy for as-cast condition, changing typical dendritic microstructure into fine equiaxed grains. Such effect was found to be related to the extensively formed Sc-rich particles. Electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD), Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and SEM-elemental mapping were employed to investigate the inner structure of these particles and their role in grain refining. They could be identified as some eutectic structure consist of multilayer of ‘Al 3 Sc + α-Al+Al 3 Sc····’, which shows good consistency in orientation both in the particle and matrix.

The effect of Sc addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Al–Mg alloys was investigated based on optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) and properties testing. The results showed that a remarkable grain refining effect was observed for Sc content greater than 0.4 wt.%, changing typical dendritic microstructure into fine equiaxed grains. Such effect was found to be related to the formed primary particles, which hindered the undesirable diffusion and subsequent crystal growth and acted as potent heterogeneous nucleation sites for α-Al matrix during solidification. In addition, these particles could cause a significant refinement strengthening effect. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and SEM-elemental mapping were employed to investigate the internal structure and elemental distribution of these particles. They could be identified as the eutectics consisted of Al3Sc and α-Al phases rather than individual Al3Sc phase, which exhibited an ‘Al3Sc + α-Al + Al3Sc⋯’ multilayer structure. Keywords: Al–Mg–Sc alloys, Grain refinement, Eutectics, Multilayer structure