Effect of mixed rare-earth modification on microstructure and properties of ZL101 aluminum alloy

The effect of mixed rare-earth(Ce,La) modification on microstructure and mechanical properties of ZL101 alloy have been investigated by optical microscope,SEM and EDS,the effect of solid-solution aging on microstructure and mechanical properties of both modified and non-modified alloy have been analyzed as well.The results show that the RE modifier can promote granulation of newborn phases;made the gathered needle eutectic silicon phases scattering form the grain boundary,and their size gets smaller;while the mechanical properties of the alloy are not improved evidently.After solid solution treatment,āphase and eutectic silicon have been improved,ā tree and rose crystals become granular or iso-axial,almost all the eutectic silicon phases turn into granular and diffusible,the mechanical properties of the alloy are increased more than that of cast samples,the average increment are 90 N/mm2-110 N/mm2.