Abstract
Al-Ce based alloys have gained recent interest and have proven to have excellent strength without heat treatment and high thermal stability. Challenges with the production of Al-Ce samples from elemental powders arise due to the elemental material before alloying being susceptible to rapid oxidation. The methodology for making superconductive wire, powder-in-tube, was used as a consolidate Al and Ce elemental powder, and Al-8 wt % Ce-10 wt % Mg composite powder into bulk nanostructured material. Powder samples are fabricated in an inert controlled atmosphere, then sealed in a tube to avoid oxidation of powders. Therefore, most of the powder is used without much loss. We used 316 stainless-steel tubes as a sheathing material. For Al-xCe wt % (x = 8 to 14) samples of elemental powder, liquid phase sintering was used and for Al-Ce-Mg powder solid-state sintering. Characterization of the bulk consolidated material after sintering, and before and after heat treatment, was made using optical and Scanning Electron Microscope imaging, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, Microhardness and Rockwell Hardness test. We demonstrated that microstructure stability in Al-Ce-based specimens can be retained after thermomechanical processing. Densification was achieved and oxidation of powder was avoided in most samples. In addition, we found that Fe and Ni in the sheathing material react with Al in the process, and Ce concentration modifies the reactivity the sheath.
Highlights
Researchers claim that the entire Al-Ce alloys family could retain much of their yield strengths at high temperatures compared to traditional Al alloys, enabling the new alloys for high temperature applications [2]
Polishing assisted in the microstructure evaluation and removed any roughness left by the tube inside surface
Boundaries between grains can be observed on samples at all Ce levels (Figure 1)
Summary
Sims et al, reported that if Ce is used as a major alloying element for aluminum (over 10 wt %) and the industry remains utilizing Al at the same consumption level, Ce demand will be 21,772.4 metric ton annually, which will lead to the rare earth (RE) industry lowering cost of production [3]. This circumstance compelled scientists and engineers to develop Al-Ce alloys with a high cerium concentration to raise the demand for this metal and impact the RE industry economy
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