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Title: Cerium-Based, Intermetallic-Strengthened Aluminum Casting Alloy: High-Volume Co-product Development

Journal Article · · JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [1];  [1];  [3]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Eck Industries, Manitowoc, WI (United States)
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  4. Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Here, several rare earth elements are considered by-products to rare earth mining efforts. By using one of these by-product elements in a high-volume application such as aluminum casting alloys, the supply of more valuable rare earths can be globally stabilized. Stabilizing the global rare earth market will decrease the long-term criticality of other rare earth elements. The low demand for Ce, the most abundant rare earth, contributes to the instability of rare earth extraction. In this article, we discuss a series of intermetallic-strengthened Al alloys that exhibit the potential for new high-volume use of Ce. The castability, structure, and mechanical properties of binary, ternary, and quaternary Al-Ce based alloys are discussed. We have determined Al-Ce based alloys to be highly castable across a broad range of compositions. Nanoscale intermetallics dominate the microstructure and are the theorized source of the high ductility. In addition, room-temperature physical properties appear to be competitive with existing aluminum alloys with extended high-temperature stability of the nanostructured intermetallic.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
Contributing Organization:
Eck Industries, Manitowoc, WI (United States); Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC52-07NA27344; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1346625
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1257369; OSTI ID: 1281684
Report Number(s):
IS-J-8916; LLNL-JRNL-682237
Journal Information:
JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, Vol. 68, Issue 7; ISSN 1047-4838
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 79 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (9)

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Electrical and Magnetic Properties of R 3 Al 11 (R = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd) journal December 2008
Microstructural aspects of the dissolution and melting of Al2Cu phase in Al-Si alloys during solution heat treatment journal July 1996
Contribution of first-principles energetics to Al–Mg thermodynamic modeling journal December 2005
Phase relations and precipitation in Al–Mg–Si alloys with Cu additions journal January 2004
Magnesium: Current and potential automotive applications journal February 2002
Mechanical properties of Al(Sc,Zr) alloys at ambient and elevated temperatures journal September 2003
Critical evaluation and thermodynamic optimization of the Al–Ce, Al–Y, Al–Sc and Mg–Sc binary systems journal June 2008
Coarsening resistance at 400°C of precipitation-strengthened Al–Zr–Sc–Er alloys journal October 2011

Cited By (9)

Cerium in aluminum alloys journal August 2019
An Economic Model and Experiments to Understand Aluminum-Cerium Alloy Recycling journal February 2018
Ageless Aluminum-Cerium-Based Alloys in High-Volume Die Casting for Improved Energy Efficiency journal April 2018
Evaluation of Microstructure, Hardness and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded Al–Ce–Si–Mg Aluminium Alloy journal July 2019
Effect of the Addition of La and Ce on the Solidification Behavior of Al–Cu and Al–Si–Cu Cast Alloys journal July 2019
Additively Manufactured Single-Use Molds and Reusable Patterns for Large Automotive and Hydroelectric Components journal October 2019
Assessment of influence of process parameters on properties of friction stir welded Al-Ce-Si-Mg aluminium alloy journal May 2019
Implications of Emerging Vehicle Technologies on Rare Earth Supply and Demand in the United States journal January 2018
Castability and Characteristics of High Cerium Aluminum Alloys book December 2017

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
alloy
aluminum
rare earth
high temperature
cerium