Evaluation of grain refining performance of aluminum cast using TP-1 test mold

Abstract

AA-TP1 (Standard Test Procedure for Aluminum Alloy Grain Refiners; TP-1 test) is one of the evaluation tests of aluminum grain refiner. Although it is the most well-maintained test at present, it is not easy to perform the test by academic institutions because it requires a large amount of molten metal. In this study, we propose new evaluation method of grain refining performance of aluminum cast using TP-1 test mold. Effects of temperature of molten metal, holding time after addition of refiner (Al-5%Ti-1%B) and preheating temperature of the mold for microstructure of as-cast pure Al were examined. Obtained results were compared with the microstructure obtained by conventional TP-1 test.