Effect of heat treatment on morphology of Fe-rich intermetallics in Al

Abstract

The iron-rich intermetallics are considered to be stable in aluminium alloys and usually hard to dissolve into the matrix during solution heat treatment (SHT). Nevertheless, solid-state transformations between Fe-rich intermetallics may happen and will play a great role in breaking-up of the large Fe-rich intermetallics particle during hot deformation process. In this study, the solid-state phase transformation of the iron-rich intermetallics from Al_mFe to β-Fe (Al₇Cu₂Fe) has been studied using SEM, XRD and deep-etched technique in a 2xxx Al–Cu cast alloy during SHT. The mechanism of solid-state transformation for the Fe-rich intermetallics was discussed, including the solid-state reaction, nucleation and growth of iron-rich intermetallics and Al phases.

Keywords

Al–Cu alloys Iron-rich intermetallics Solid-state phase transformation Solution heat treatment

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Effect of heat treatment on morphology of Fe-rich intermetallics in Al–Cu alloys

Abstract

Keywords

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