Intergranular fracture caused by trace impurities in an Al–5.5 mol% Mg alloy

Abstract A coarse-grained Al–5% Mg alloy, which does not show high temperature embrittlement, is successfully prepared using high purity raw materials and a graphite crucible. By preventing the contamination of sodium and hydrogen, it becomes possible to examine separately the effects of various trace elements on hot ductility in the Al–5% Mg alloy. Sodium, calcium, or strontium of 2 mol ppm brings about the high temperature embrittlement based on intergranular fracture, while lithium of 4 mol ppm does not. Sodium is the most highly embrittling among such detrimental elements. The detrimental effect of such impurity is due to its segregation to grain boundaries. Further, the embrittlement caused by sodium or strontium of 2 mol ppm is greatly suppressed by an addition of more than 1000 mol ppm of silicon which scavenges those detrimental elements from grain boundaries.