Comparative Analysis of Structure and Properties of Nb-B Inoculated Direct Chill Cast AA4032 Alloy Extruded from As-Cast and Homogenized Conditions

Al-Si wrought piston alloys can lack properties due to inefficient grain refining. A novel Al-Nb-B grain refiner was introduced some time ago, but has still not been assessed in industry for wrought alloys. This paper describes the first trial of Al-Ni-B addition and its impact on the full-scale manufacturing, structure, and properties of the AA4032 products extruded with and without billet homogenization. It is shown that Nb-B inoculation gives opportunities not only to have a refined as-cast structure but also a more homogenous distribution of the solute. In contrast, homogenization drives nucleation and coarsening of the Mg 2 Si phase that is retained during further extrusion and heat treatment also affecting the precipitation and properties. It was observed that non-homogenized specimens perform better during machining and tensile testing compared to homogenized specimens. The results are supported by electron microscopy investigations of microstructure formation during different steps in downstream processing.