Assessment of refining effectiveness of self-prepared nano-(TiNb)C/(NbTi)/Al complex powder inoculation on A356 alloy

Inoculation plays an effective role to refine the microstructure of as-cast aluminium alloys, which strongly depend on the effectiveness of the inoculants. In this work, a new concept of nano-(TiNb)C/(NbTi)/Al complex powder as an inoculant for refining the as-cast aluminium alloys was proposed, and the nano-(TiNb)C/(NbTi)/Al complex powder was prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) method, furthermore, the refining effectiveness of inoculation on A356 alloy was investigated. Results show that the nano-(TiNb)C/(NbTi)/Al complex powder consists of three phases of α-Al, nano-(TiNb)C and (NbTi) solid solution. The nano-(TiNb)C/(NbTi)/Al complex powder as an inoculant have higher refining effectiveness as well as good recyclability on the microstructure of cast A356 alloy, and improve the mechanical properties, especially the ductility.