Crystallography and Interface Structures in As-Arc Melted and Laser Surface-Remelted Aluminum-Silicon Alloys with and without Strontium Addition

The crystallography of the eutectic Al-Si microstructure in both unmodified and Sr (0.2 wt.%)-modified hypereutectic Al-20 wt.% Si alloys, processed via arc-melting and laser surface remelting, has been comprehensively characterized using transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Although, under as-cast conditions, specific orientations between different planes of Al and Si, satisfying defined orientation relationships (ORs), have been investigated within the flake morphology, the rapid solidification induced by laser surface remelting results in a notable transformation from a flake morphology to nanocrystalline Si fibers dispersed in an Al matrix. Consequently, this transformation results in a mis-orientation of the interface between the eutectic Al and Si phases, preventing the formation of orientation relationships, thus promoting the formation of faceted interfaces exhibiting substantial lattice disregistry.