OBRABOTKAMETALLOV Vol. 27 No. 4 2025 284 MATERIAL SCIENCE Eff ect of Zr, Sc, and Hf additions on the microstructure formation of cast ALTEK alloys Alina Levagina 1, а, *, Evgenii Aryshenskii 1, b, Sergey Konovalov 1, c, Dmitry Rasposienko 2, d 1 Siberian State Industrial University, 42 Kirova str., Novokuznetsk, 654007, Russian Federation 2 M.N. Miheev Institute of Metal Physics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 18 S. Kovalevskoy st., Yekaterinburg, 620990, Russian Federation a https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7270-6008, levagina_aa@sibsiu.ru; b https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3875-7749, arishenskiy_ev@sibsiu.ru; c https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4809-8660, konovalov@sibsiu.ru; d https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7670-9054, dmitrijrasp@gmail.com Obrabotka metallov - Metal Working and Material Science Journal homepage: http://journals.nstu.ru/obrabotka_metallov Obrabotka metallov (tekhnologiya, oborudovanie, instrumenty) = Metal Working and Material Science. 2025 vol. 27 no. 4 pp. 272–286 ISSN: 1994-6309 (print) / 2541-819X (online) DOI: 10.17212/1994-6309-2025-27.4-272-286 ART I CLE I NFO Article history: Received: 14 August 2025 Revised: 16 September 2025 Accepted: 25 October 2025 Available online: 15 December 2025 Keywords: Aluminum alloys ALTEK Al-Cu-Mn-Mg Structure modifi cation Grain structure Cast microstructure X-ray diff raction analysis Scanning electron microscopy Funding The study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24-1900064, https://rscf.ru/project/ 24-1900064/. ABSTRACT Introduction. Aluminum alloys of the Al-Cu-Mn system, alloyed with 23% copper and 1–2% manganese (ALTEK), are distinguished by heat resistance and high mechanical properties due to the formation of nano-dispersed particles of the Al20Cu2Mn3 phase. When exposed to high temperatures (up to 400°C), the particles block the processes of polygonization and recovery, hindering the movement of grain boundaries. A promising direction for improving these alloys is the modifi cation of the cast structure with transition metals (TMs). An insuffi cient content of TMs does not provide a modifying eff ect, while an excessive amount leads to a reduction in strength due to the formation of a large number of coarse intermetallic particles. The subject of this work a ALTEK alloys alloyed with Mg, Zr, Sc, and Hf. The purpose of the work is to determine the optimal concentrations of scandium, hafnium, and zirconium required for eff ective modifi cation of the cast structure of ALTEK alloys during complex alloying. The eff ect of complex additions of transition metals (Zr, Sc, Hf) on the formation of the cast structure of Base0.15Zr0.05Sc0.05Hf, Base0.1Zr0.14Sc0.16Hf, Base0.1Zr0.2Sc0.16Hf, and Base0.1Zr0.25Sc0.16Hf alloys is investigated in comparison to the base alloy. The research methods were optical and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diff raction analysis. Results and discussion. Modifi cation of the grain structure in alloys with a scandium content of less than 0.20% is not observed, and the average grain structure size is 350 μm. The addition of scandium in the amount of 0.20% and 0.25% leads to a decrease in the average grain diameter to 41.8 μm and 29.7 μm, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy showed that particles of the Al6Mn and Al2CuMg phases are present in all the alloys studied. Particles of the Al3(Sc,Hf,Zr) phase are found in the Base0.1Zr0.2Sc0.16Hf and Base0.1Zr0.25Sc0.16Hf compositions. X-ray diff raction analysis revealed the Al20Cu2Mn3 phase and small amounts of Al6Mn and Al2CuMg in the base alloy and in the Base0.1Zr0.25Sc0.16Hf alloy. The structural modifi cation is explained by the precipitation of primary Al3(Sc, Zr, Hf) particles. Application of the results. The obtained results are promising for the development of new materials for the manufacture of aerospace products. Conclusions. The addition of 0.20–0.25% scandium with a zirconium content of 0.1% and hafnium of 0.16% is the most eff ective. For citation: Levagina A.A., Aryshenskii E.V., Konovalov S.V., Rasposienko D.Yu. Eff ect of Zr, Sc, and Hf additions on the microstructure formation of cast ALTEK alloys. Obrabotka metallov (tekhnologiya, oborudovanie, instrumenty) = Metal Working and Material Science, 2025, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 272–286. DOI: 10.17212/1994-6309-2025-27.4-272-286. (In Russian). ______ * Corresponding author Levagina Alina A., junior researcher Siberian State Industrial University, 42 Kirova str., 654007, Novokuznetsk, Russian Federation Tel.: +7 900 321-55-05, e-mail: levagina_aa@sibsiu.ru References 1. Sizyakov V., Bazhin V., Vlasov A. Status and prospects for growth of the aluminum industry. Metallurgist, 2010, vol. 54, pp. 409–414. DOI: 10.1007/s11015-010-9316-z. 2. Belov N.A., Naumova E.A., Akopyan T.K. Evtekticheskie splavy na osnove alyuminiya: novye sistemy legirovaniya [Eutectic alloys based on aluminum: new alloying systems]. Moscow, Ruda i metally Publ., 2016. 256 p. ISBN 978-5-98191-083-8.
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