Preparing Sc-Bearing Master Alloy Using Aluminum–Magnesium Thermoreduction Method

In this study, preparation of Al–Mg–Sc master alloy tests were carried out by Al–Mg thermoreduction method. Stirring by blowing argon and pressing with molten salt jar were adopted to reduce scandium segregation and upgrading scandium recovery of scandium-bearing master alloy. The results show that the Al–Mg–Sc master alloy ingot contained 2.90% Sc, 5.73% Mg, 0.0058% Cu, 0.29%, 0.029% Ti, 0.13% Fe, 0.075% Zn, 0.025% Na, and 96.72% recovered scandium obtained under the comprehensive conditions used: m(Al): m(Mg): m(ScCl3) = 10:1:1.5, stirring speed of eight rpm, reduction temperature of 1223 K, reduction time of 40 min. The experimental results are in agreement with the thermodynamic predictions, and Al–Mg–Sc master alloy indicator was ideal.

Plasticity improvement of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 bulk metallic glass by remelting master alloy ingots

The effect of repeated melting of master alloy ingots on the bending properties of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 bulk metallic glass (BMG) was investigated. The bending plasticity of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 BMG was found to be improved with the increased remelting times. When remelted 10 times, the BMG sample cast from the master alloy ingot undergoes bending, but it does not fracture even though the bending angle increases to 100°; the maximum bending stress and elastic strain remain almost constant. The bending plasticity improvement may be attributed to the fact that the increased remelting times result in more free volume and more disorder and homogeneous microstructure in the BMG, which favors the initial nucleation of profuse shear bands and reduces the probability of catastrophic fracture.