Influence of Rare Earth(Ce and La) Addition on the Performance of Al-3.0 wt%Mg Alloy

The influences of rare earth elements（cerium and lanthanum） on the microstructure and phases of Al-3.0 wt%Mg alloys used for electromagnetic shielding wire were characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, energy-dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）, X-ray diffraction（XRD） and differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）. The mechanical properties and electrical resistivity were also investigated. The results indicated that a certain content of rare earth could improve the purification of the aluminum molten, enhance the strength, and reduce the electrical resistivity of Al-3.0 wt%Mg alloys. The strength reached the top value when RE content was 0.3 wt% while the alloy with 0.2 wt% RE addition had the smallest electrical resistivity. The elongation varied little when RE addition was no more than 0.2 wt%. But the excessive addition of rare earth would be harmful to the microstructure and properties of Al-3.0 wt%Mg alloys.

Effect of La addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of hypoeutectic Al-7Si aluminum alloy

The effect of La addition(0,0.1,0.2,0.4,wt.%)on the microstructure,tensile properties and fracture behavior of Al-7Si alloy was investigated systematically.It is found that the La appears in the Al-7Si alloy in the form of Al4La and Al2Si2La phases.La addition can refine the secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS)and eutectic Si particles,which are decreased by 7.9%and 7%,respectively,with the optimal La content of 0.1wt.%.Because when 0.1wt.%La is added,a relatively higher nucleation undercooling of 37.47℃ is observed.Higher undercooling degree suggests that nucleation is accelerated and subsequent growth is restrained.After T6 heat treatment,compared with the without La,the ultimate tensile strength of the alloy with 0.1wt.%La is enhanced by 5.2%from 333 MPa to 350.2 MPa and the elongation increases by 73%from 7.37%to 12.75%,correspondingly.The fracture mode evolves from the ductile-brittle mixed fracture to ductile fracture mode.However,when La element content reaches a certain value of 0.4wt.%,serious segregation takes place during the solidification process.The formed brittle phases deteriorate the tensile properties of the alloy and the fracture mode of Al-7Si-0.2/0.4 La changes to mixed ductile-brittle fracture mode.

Effect of La on the crystalline and electrochemical properties of Ti-Zr-Ni melt-spun alloys

Ti45Zr30Ni25 and Ti45Zr30Ni25La alloys were prepared by melt-spinning, and the phase structure and electrochemical performances of the melt-spun alloys were investigated. The results showed that the Ti45Zr30Ni25 alloy was composed of the quasicrystalline phase, amorphous phase and Laves phase. The Ti45Zr30Ni25La alloy contained quasicrystalline and amorphous phases. The maximum discharge capacity was 111 mAh/g for the Ti45Zr30Ni25 alloy electrode, and 124 mAh/g for the Ti45Zr30Ni25La alloy electrode. The Ti45Zr30Ni25La alloy electrode exhibited a better high-rate dischargeability and cycling stability than the Ti45Zr30Ni25 alloy electrode. The improvement of electrochemical properties was mainly ascribed to the increase in the amorphous phase due to the addition of La.

Effect of La Addition on Electrochemical Properties of Amorphous LaMg_(11)Zr+200Ni Alloy

The effect of La addition on the structure and electrochemical properties of amorphous LaMg 11 Zr+200Ni(LaMg 11 Zr:Ni=1:2,m:m) hydrogen storage alloy prepared by mechanical alloying was investigated systematically.The results show that the alloys have an amorphous structure after 20 h ball-milling and the particles are significantly refined with the addition of La.The electrochemical tests indicate that the charging resistance of the alloy electrodes decreases with the addition of La.The maximum discharge capacity of the alloy electrodes increases with the increase of La addition,while the cyclic stability and high-rate discharge performance increase firstly and then decrease as the La content increases.When the mass fraction of La is up to 5%,the maximum discharge capacity after charging/discharging of 30 cycles of the alloy electrode is increased from 576.2 to 597.5 mA.h/g,and the capacity retention rate and high-rate dischargeability(HRD) of the alloy electrode are increased by 20.5% and 29.4% respectively compared with those of the alloy electrode without the La addition,exhibiting the best comprehensive electrochemical performances.