Preparation and microstructural characterization of the 60Al- 40V master alloy

Abstract

The present study focused on preparation and characterization of 60Al-40V master alloy which was produced via aluminothermic process. The study assessed the production in order to provide the optimum Al requirement for maximum recovery of the V. V2O5 (Vanadium pentoxide) and Al metal were mixed in the proportion of producing 60Al-40V and Al2O3 (slag) through an exothermic reaction. Microstructural analysis and phase identification were done using Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses. The XRD revealed diffraction peaks mainly of the Al3V phase and some peaks of slightly homogenized Al8V5 intermetallic compounds. The chemical composition was found to be 65 ± 0.03 and 35 ± 0.03 wt. % Al and V respectively. Good agreement between the experimental results and the predicted phases using Thermo-Calc. Software was observed.