DETERMINATION OF TIB{sub}2 INCLUSIONS IN AL-BILLETS BY SINGLE SPARK EMISSION SPECTROMETRY

摘要

Aluminum safety parts and aluminum bright shining components, especially for automotive applications, have to be nearly free from inclusions due to their influences on mechanical properties and surface quality, respectively. On the other hand grain refinement is essential. For this purpose titanium/boron based master alloys are often used, which can lead to TiB{sub}2 agglomerations in the billet. The usual method for quality control is microscopy of the specimen. The growing demand for high quality billets has created a need for faster and cost-efficient methods of quality control. Single spark spectrometry promises fast determination of inclusions, especially of TiB{sub}2-particles. Statistical evaluation of single spark spectrometry data allows the determination of distribution and size of TiB{sub}2-agglomerations. This paper covers the application of single spark emission spectrometry to Al-billets, the graphical and statistical analysis and an outlook on the quality control using single spark emission spectrometry.