Grain Refinement and Thermal Analysis of Al-Mg Alloy 535 P. Fasoyinu, J. Thomson, D. Cousineau, T. Castles, M. Sahoo Materials Technology Laboratory - Canmet The grain refinement of aluminum-magnesium alloy 535 has been studied by adding titanium, boron, scandium, zirconium and strontium individually, and a combination of selected elements from this group. The effectiveness of each addition was evaluated by determining the grain size from test samples sectioned from 1-inch diameter rods cast in green sand- and permanent-molds. The thermal analysis technique was used to monitor and predict the effectiveness of the added elements and the results correlated with chemical composition and the grain size determined from the rod castings. It is shown that these elements are effective as grain refiners for alloy 535. The effectiveness of each refiner is however dependent on the amount added and the melt processing condition. The optimum levels required to achieving equivalent grain size for each of the elements varied. |