Effect of Silicon Content on Microstructures and Properties of Directionally Solidified Fe-B Alloy

In order to investigate the effect of Si content on the microstructures and properties of directionally solidified (DS) Fe-B alloy, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), and X-ray diffraction have been employed to investigate the as-cast microstructures of DS Fe-B alloy. The results show that Si can strongly refine the columnar microstructures of the DS Fe-B alloy, and the columnar grain thickness of the oriented Fe₂B is reduced with the increase of Si addition. In addition, Si is mainly distributed in the ferrite matrix, almost does not dissolve in boride, and seems to segregate in the center of the columnar ferrite to cause a strong solid solution strengthening and refinement effect on the matrix, thus raising the microhardness of the matrix and bulk hardness of the DS Fe-B alloy.