Effect of Ce melt treatment on solidification path of ZA8 alloy

Abstract

The solidification path of ZA8 alloy with Ce addition was characterized using Newtonian technique of thermal analysis. The solidification events were determined using cooling curve and its first derivative curve. The microstructure and chemical composition of various phases in the alloy were studied using EDS, SEM and XRD techniques. It was found that the addition of Ce did not cause formation of new phases. However, it hinders the nucleation of stable ? dendrites in the alloy. The presence of Ce promotes the eutectoid phase transformation and increases the hardness of the alloy. Latent heat of solidification and heat of eutectoid transformation were found to increase on Ce addition. The upward solidification of the alloy against Cu chill was analysed. Chilling had significant influence on solidification parameters, and caused refinement of the microstructure. The addition of Ce to the melt had no effect during chill casting of the alloy.