From "grain refiners" to "aluminium based in-situ composites" in ternary Al-Ti-B system

Abstract

There has been a considerable interest in the ternary Al-Ti-B system amongst the aluminium casting fraternity. Of the many techniques used to synthesize grain refiners based on Al-Ti-B system, addition of halide salts - K2TiF6 and KBF4 - to molten aluminium has been one of the widely accepted routes. The present talk deals with the journey from the "development of grain refiners for aluminium alloys" to "aluminium based in-situ composites" in authors' laboratory over the last two decades. The concept of aluminium based in-situ composites reinforced with titanium diboride particles, which is an offshoot of the technique used to produce commercial grain refiners for aluminium alloys using halide salts, will be presented. The talk also discusses few challenges and opportunities in ternary Al-Ti-B system. Copyright � 2014 MS&T14�.