Effect of the alloy composition on the grain refinement of aluminum alloys

Experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of solute elements on grain refinement in aluminum based hypoeutectic alloys. Grain sizes of the as-cast structures were measured. The measured grain sizes were plotted vs. the undercooling parameter, P, the growth restriction factor, Q, and the solidification interval, ΔT, of the alloys. The results indicated that grain sizes decrease monotonically with increasing ΔT over the whole range of the hypoeutectic compositions whereas the relationships between the grain size and P or Q are “V” type curves.