Solidification of Aluminium Alloys

Abstract

Solidification of alloys passing through the area between the solidus and liquidus lines results in the differentiation of solid solution composition as well as the occurrence of non-equilibrium phases. The quantitative analysis of the phenomenon of the maximum microsegregation at the assumption of full diffusion in the liquid and lack of diffusion in the solid is the main aim of the work. Binary aluminium-base alloys with zinc, magnesium, copper and silicon have been examined experimentally in order to compare the differences of real microsegregation with the data provided by the theoretical results. It was found that the solidification rate was the basic parameter which affected the extent of microsegregation. The ranges of rates at which the extent of segregation reached the theoretical value were established experimentally.