Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, Saint Petersburg, Russia:

V. Yu. Bazhin, Head of Metallurgy Department, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, e-mail: bazhin_vyu@pers.spmi.ru
N. A. Gordevnin, Master’s Student at the Metallurgy Department, e-mail: s222647@stud.spmi.ru

The production of aluminium master alloys with rare earth metals for further modification and alloying of aluminium alloys is widely studied by many scientists in the field of non-ferrous metallurgy. An important problem is to find rare earth elements that could completely or partially replace scandium while maintaining the physical and chemical characteristics of aluminium alloys that determine their applicability in advanced industrial sectors. The dual Al – Yb master alloy is a promising alloying and modifying additive for aluminum alloys, which is due to the proven effect of ytterbium on the structure and properties of aluminium alloys as it forms intermetallic Al₃Yb compounds. The authors looked at the microstructural parameters of Al – Yb master alloys with different concentrations of ytterbium, obtained by metallothermic reduction of salt melts. On the basis of thermodynamic analysis and considering that Al₃Yb aluminides tend to form in the temperature range of 750 to 760 ^оС, dual Al – Yb master alloys containing 3 and 6 wt % of ytterbium were synthesized by aluminothermic reduction in the YbF₃ – NaF – KCl fluoride-chloride melt, with the soaking time of 15–20 minutes. The microstructure of the synthesized master alloys, investigated by scanning electron microscopy, consists of equiaxed dendrites of aluminum α-Al and an Al + Al₃Yb eutectic, with inclusions of aluminides Al₃Yb located at the interphase boundaries and in the volume of the eutectic. It was established that the shape and dispersion of the structural components of the Al – Yb master alloy are dictated by the concentration of ytterbium.

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