Nucleation of dendritic primaryα（Al） phase with addition of element Ce and Sr in hypoeutectic Al-7%Si-Mg cast alloy was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and scanning electron microscopy. DSC results were used to calculate the activation energy and nucleation work of primaryα（Al） phase. The results show that the values of activation energy and nucleation work are decreased and the nucleation frequency is increased with the additions of Ce and Sr to the alloys. Moreover, the grain size of dendriticα（Al） phase is well refined, and the nucleation temperatures of primaryα（Al） dendrites are decreased with the additions of Ce and Sr. The effects of elements Ce and Sr additions on kinetic nucleation of primary α（Al） phases were also discussed in hypoeutectic Al-7%Si-Mg cast alloy.
Microstructure and hardness of twin-roll casting （TRC） process and direct-chill casting （DC） for A8006 alloy with and without homogenization were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction analysis and Vickers hardness measurement. The results show that the eutectic phase of the homogenized TRC alloy becomes fine as the microstructure of the as-cast TRC alloy is refined. The short rodlike eutectic phase of the as-cast TRC alloy is dispersed homogeneously, which is similar to the morphology of eutectic phase of the homogenized DC alloy. After homogenization, elements Fe and Mn in DC and TRC alloys are diffused from eutectic phase to A1 matrix, resulting in the decrease of microhardness. The formability of the as-cast TRC alloy is superior to that of the homogenized DC alloy. For TRC A8006 alloy, the homogenizing cycle can be removed from the subsequent processing.
