Archives of Metallurgy and Materials

Abstract

This paper presents results of a study of the effect of inoculation of yttrium on the microstructure of AZ91 alloy. The concentration of the inoculant was increased in samples in the range from 0.1% up to 0.6%. The influence of Y on the thermal effects resulting from the phase transformations occurring during the crystallisation at different inoculant concentrations were examined with the use of Derivative and Thermal Analysis (DTA). The microstructures of the samples were examined with the use of an optical microscope; and an image analysis with a statistical analysis were also carried out. Those analyses aimed at examining oh the effect of inoculation of the Y on the differences between the grain diameters of phase α Mg and eutectic α Mg + γ (Mg 17 Al 12 ) in the prepared examined material as well as the average size of each type of grain by way of measuring their perimeters.