Improving the mechanical properties of the B319 aluminum alloy by addition of cerium

The effect of cerium (Ce) addition (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%) on the ambient and high-temperature mechanical properties of a commercially available B319 powertrain aluminum alloy was investigated. In addition, to characterize the effects that Ce has on the microstructure of the B319 alloy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray micro computed tomography...