Crystallization and Structure of AlSi10Mg0.5Mn0.5 Alloy with Dispersion Strengthening with Al–FexAly–SiC Phases
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors often used abbreviations without any definition and description throughout the paper. Please provide full name for all the abbreviations used in the paper (e.g. ASHS, ATD, SAP etc.).
Table 1: Considering the volume fractions of powders added to the molten AlSi10Mg0.5Mn0.5, the reviewer speculates that the chemical compositions should be somehow affected and thus would be changed. The chemical compositions given in Table 1 however have no indication that the amount of certain alloying element, for instance Fe, was changed. – The content of carbon was even not analysed for the study. By the way, how was the chemical compositions of Table 1 experimentally determined?
Fig. 1: The cooling curves analysis and the methodology determining the characteristic reactions upon solidification was not clearly provided in this paper. The reviewer thinks that particularly the nucleation temperatures of primary Mn-rich intermetallics (point A) and α-Al (point B) were not precisely determined based on the first derivative temperature curves in Fig. 1. Having considered the similar chemical compositions among the alloys with and without powder additions, such an increase in the α-Al nucleation temperature for the base alloy is not convincing and was not fully explained in the paper.
Figs. 2 and 3: The eutectic modification by means of alloying with SHS is certainly a brand new concept as suggested by the authors and is very interesting. Did authors find any direct evidence of reinforcement particles (e.g. ceramic particles, intermetallic phases) that were possibly in-situ synthesized during SHS? The reviewer suggests that the authors provide such evidences of reinforcements that are present either in the interdendritic region or in the α-Al matrix with a further discussion on their specific role in modification of the Al-Si eutectic structures.
As the authors commented in the conclusion, besides the microstructural modification, the role of reinforcements in strengthening the alloys investigated needs to be investigated. For the present, the authors need to carefully observe the microstructural features (particularly the size, morphology and distribution of reinforcement particles) and sufficiently provide the results in this work in order to support the future study.
Author Response
Attached we send the corrected article. All comments have been made.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Authors,
Following are some remarks to the work:
1. The introduction includes very limited examples of modification. For example, vibration technique which is widely used in Al alloys casting didn’t mentioned. You can find info here: V. Selivorstov, Y. Dotsenko, K. Borodianskiy, Influence of Low-Frequency Vibration and Modification on Solidification and Mechanical Properties of Al-Si Casting Alloy, Materials 10 (5) (2017) 560-570. DOI: 10.3390/ma10050560.
2. Please re-write the following sentence: In elaboration of the concept of research works there was a few percent presence of hybrid modified taken into account in the structure of the silumin casting.
3. Please specify the supplier of Al alloy used in the work.
4. Please explain: granularity of 60 m, granularity of 40 m.
5. Scanning microscopy??? Maybe Scanning Electron Microscopy?
6. Please specify the model of the SEM used in the work.
7. In the beginning of the Results section you have mentioned chemical composition of the alloy, please specify which method of analysis was used.
8. What standard sampler QC4080 is? Add its schemcatics.
9. On Figure 1, two curves namely, blue and red are presented. Please specify ehat is the difference.
10. Table 2 has info which is not explained. What are points A-G belongs to?
11. Figure 2 contain of 2 microscopes applied, optical and electron. Please specify this.
12. What is eutectic occurrence (line 128)? Please re-write.
13. Please separate section Conclusions to the following: Discussion, Conclusions.
14. The references used in the work are very old, the newest citation dated 2011. You have to update references list using as newer as possible publications.
15. Generally, your work deals with the modification process, why you have not added grain size calculations and their comparisons to the as-cast alloy? Additionally, in my opinion tensile test results are essential in the work to show the effect of modification on the performance of the metal.
Author Response
Attached we send the corrected article. All comments have been made.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The reviewer accepts the manuscript in present form.
Author Response
Thank you.
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Authors,
Most of my remarks were considered by you, but two of them still not be answered:
1. Please specify the supplier of Al alloy used in the work.
2. What standard sampler QC4080 is? Add its schemcatics.
Author Response
Attached, I am sending the corrected text
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
