Effect of Rare Earth Addition on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-Si Alloys: An Overview

Abstract

This paper reviews the effect of rare earth addition on aluminium-silicon (Al-Si) alloys of hypoeutectic, eutectic, and hypereutectic types. The effects of rare earth on metallurgy, tensile strength, tensile fracture surface and wear behaviour of Al-Si alloys are highlighted and discussed in this paper. It was concluded that adding rare earth element to Al-Si alloys reduces the grain size of primary Si, increases the tensile strength and decreases the friction coefficient decreases. These indicate enhanced mechanical properties for rare earth modified Al-Si alloys are likely.