Modification of eutectic Si in Al–Si alloys with Eu addition

Abstract Al–5 wt.% Si-based alloys with 0.05 wt.% Eu addition were produced by controlled sand-casting and melt-spinning, respectively. The modification of eutectic Si caused by 0.05 wt.% Eu addition was investigated by thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and multi-scale microstructure characterization techniques. In the case of controlled sand-casting, 0.05 wt.% Eu addition was found to modify the eutectic Si into a fibrous morphology. Multiply twinned Si particles were observed within eutectic Si. Furthermore, the Al 2 Si 2 Eu phase was also observed both in the vicinity of eutectic Si and within eutectic Si, which was believed to hinder Si growth. In the case of melt-spun samples, nanometer-sized Al 2 Si 2 Eu phases were observed. However, after controlled cooling in a differential scanning calorimeter, multiply twinned Si particles were observed. The formation of multiply twinned Si particles was attributed to the adsorption of Eu atoms along the 〈1 1 2〉 Si growth direction of Si and at the intersection of two {1 1 1} Si facets. Twinning was observed in both fundamentally different casting processes: controlled sand-casting and melt-spinning. This is fully consistent with the well-known poisoning of the twin plane re-entrant edge and the impurity-induced twinning modification mechanisms.