Effect of Heat Treatment of a Melt on the Structure and Properties of the Corresponding Crystalline Ingots or Castings

The modern concepts of the structure of liquid metals and alloys are considered. Several types of microinhomogeneity and microheterogeneity are shown to exist in liquid metal solutions. Their structural state changes as a result of variations in composition, history, temperature, and pressure or the influence of various external actions. Upon subsequent cooling at an appropriate rate, these changes can persist up to liquidus and affect the structure and properties of the solidified alloy. The main attention is paid to the influence of the heating temperature of a liquid metal. For aluminum-based alloys, the possibility of developing the optimum heat-treatment conditions for melting using the results of studying the structure and properties of melts has been shown. This optimized heat treatment of melts is shown to be an effective method to improve the quality of alloys.