An Investigation of the Microstructure of Short Time Oxide Film in Al-1Mg and Al-2Mg Alloys

Although the solubility of oxygen in molten aluminum alloys is said to be negligible, the fresh surface of the melt oxidizes quickly in the air and an oxide film is formed on the melt surface. Oxide-metal-oxide sandwich technique is a method for the study of short-time surface oxide films. In this research, air was blown at 0.5 atmosphere into the melts of Al-1Mg and Al-6Mg alloys by means of a compressor in order to form air bubbles within the melts. The sandwiches of oxide-metal-oxide were formed at locations where these bubbles reach each other. Some of the characteristics of these films inside the bubbles were evaluated using the scanning electron microscope. In Al-1Mg alloy, the formation of crystalline aluminum oxide as well as the granules of magnesium oxide at the same time was confirmed whereas the magnesium oxide in the form of layer and granule was detected for the case of Al-6Mg alloy