Abstract
The effect of the amount of $SiO_2$dopant on the behavior of $AlO_2$$O_3$-composite formation by melt oxdation of Al-alloy was examined in this paper. The $SiO_2$powder was spread on the top surface of the Al-1Mg-3-Si-5Zn-1Cu alloy in th alumina crucible. The selected amount of each powder was 0.03, 0.10, 0.16g/$\textrm{cm}^2$. The oxidation behavior was determined by observing the weight gain after the heat treatment for 10 hours at 1373K. The macroscopic structure of formed oxide layer was examined by an optical microscope. The top surface and the cross-section of the grown oxide layer were investigated by SEM and analysed by EDX. The $SiO_2$ powder was determined to enhance oxidation by thermit reaction with Al which reduced the growth incubation period of the oxidation layer. As the amount of the $SiO_2$dopant increased, the growth rate decreased due to the precipitated Si which blocked the Al-alloy channel in the composite materials. However, more uniform layer was obtained due to the occurrance of the enhanced oxidation reaction in the whole alloy surface compared to the case of addition of less amount of dopant.
