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Aluminum-Scandium Grain Refinement

The addition of small amounts of scandium to the melt of wrought aluminum alloys to generate primary precipitates that drastically inhibit crystal growth during solidification. This results in fine-grained microstructures with improved toughness properties.

Scandium is a strong grain refiner for aluminum. It forms fine particles in the melt that act as nucleation sites. This results in a fine-grained, tougher structure that is less prone to cracking. When welding aluminum with a scandium addition, you have to be careful not to keep the melt liquid too long, otherwise the structure coarsens again. Simply put: weld cleanly and quickly, then the grain stays fine.

MetallurgieSchweißtechnik

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