Response of Mg Addition on the Dendritic Structures and Mechanical Properties of Hypoeutectic Al-10Si (Wt Pct) Alloys

Rapidly solidified hypoeutectic Al-10Si-xMg (x = 0, 5, 10 wt pct) alloys were produced by the melt-spinning method. The phase composition was identified by X-ray diffractometry, and the microstructures of the alloys were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The melting characteristics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and differential thermal analysis under an Ar atmosphere. The mechanical properties of the melt-spun and conventionally solidified alloys were tested by tensile-strength and Vickers microhardness tests. The results illustrate that the cooling rate and solidification time of 89 μm thick melt-spun ribbon were estimated to be 2.97 × 10⁷ K s⁻¹ and 9.31 × 10⁻⁶ s, respectively. Nanoscale Si spot particles were observed growing on the surface of the dendritic α-Al matrix and the average sizes of these spots ranged from 10 to 50 nm. The improvement in the tensile properties and microhardness was related to structural refinement and the supersaturated α-Al solid solution; the nanoscale-dispersed Si spot particles made a significant improvement to the mechanical properties of the melt-spun ribbon. Detailed electrical resistivity tests of the ribbons were carried out at temperatures of 300 K to 800 K (27 °C to 527 °C).