In the current work, a novel complex concentrated aluminum alloy is designed and studied. In order to investigate the unknown region of the multicomponent phase diagrams, thermo-physical parameters and the CALPHAD method were used to understand the phase formation of the Al58Mg18Zn12Cu5Si7 at.% (Al47.4Mg13.3Zn23.8Cu9.6Si6wt.%) alloy with a low-density of 2.63 g/cm3. The CALPHAD methodology showed good agreement with both the investigated microstructure and the thermodynamic parameters. The designed alloy was manufactured using an induction furnace and pour mold casting process. This study avoids the use of expensive, dangerous or scarce alloying elements and focuses instead on the utilization of widely available relatively cheaper elements. The microstructural evolution as a function of the heat-treatment was studied by means of different microstructural characterization techniques. The hardness, compressive strength and electrical conductivity of the as-cast and heat-treated alloy at room temperature were studied and correlated with the previously characterized microstructure. The alloy is characterized by a multiphase microstructure with major α-Al matrix reinforced with various secondary phases. In terms of mechanical properties, the developed alloy exhibited a high hardness value of 249 Vickers and compressive strength of 588 MPa. The present work provides a valuable insight for researchers, who aim to design and produce industry-like Aluminum based complex concentrated alloys (CCAs).
The research and development of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and complex-concentrated alloys (CCAs) are growing rapidly, focusing on the enhanced properties of these alloys. However, so far, their manufacturing has not exceeded the laboratory scale. To meet this challenge, a combination of the processing characteristics and methods along with their sustainable production must be ensured. Moving towards a circular economy, this includes the utilization of low-cost, widely available scrap for the manufacturing of CCAs. Changing the raw materials, can ensure a cost-efficient production and paves the way to surpass major limitations in the industrial manufacturing of CCAs. Examples of a novel lightweight CCA design approach will be presented in this work.
This work deals with the microstructural characterization of two equiatomic high-entropy, low-density alloys (HEA), the AlCrTiV and AlCrTiV-Si7.2. These alloys can serve as potential candidates for advanced applications where high strength and enhanced ductility is demanded. For ensuring high ductility the alloys must contain as minimum as possible hard precipitates. As the strength increase is based on both solid solution and precipitation hardening, the laboratory made alloys were investigated in as-cast and heat-treated conditions. For the heat treatment a high soaking temperature of 1200°C for 8 hours was selected to ensure microstructure homogenization. Micrographic observations of the AlCrTiV and AlCrTiV-Si7.2 samples in the as-cast condition indicated the presence of a dendritic microstructure. Furthermore, chemical micro-analysis showed segregation in the matrix in both samples. This is a critical result as this segregation will lead to heavy precipitation at interdendritic regions, it may sensitize these regions and in the worst-case scenario may cause cleavage fracture in the micro scale, which can trigger brittle fracture during cooling even without the application of deformation. However, the selected heat treatment eliminated the segregation phenomena forcing the alloying elements to be uniformly distributed in the matrix. At the center of the heat-treated AlCrTiV-Si7.2 sample the fragmentation and spheroidization of the intermetallic phase Ti5Si3 was observed. For the same sample, at the mold-sample’s interface, the particles Ti5Si3 were shown to dissolve and form aggregates. Both alloys exhibited high hardness values with small differences between the as-cast and heat-treated conditions, which indicates that the AlCrTiV–Si7.2 high entropy alloy presents high yield strength and may operate at high temperatures without deterioration of the mechanical properties nor unexpected failure.
This work focuses on the examination of two High Entropy Alloys (HEAs), the AlTiVCr and AlTiVCr–Si7.2, which have been observed to fail in a brittle manner directly after casting. Understanding the failure mechanics is a prerequisite for an alternative enhanced alloy design in order to prevent early failure without loading application. The specimens were produced using the Vacuum Arc Melting methodology in a protective argon atmosphere. The material was re–melted five times in combination with electromagnetic stirring in order to achieve a fully homogenized microstructure. Based on our findings, the failure occurred in the first 10 minutes after casting during slow cooling. Similarly, the same took place during thermal treatment after the third re–melting. The specimens were first prepared for optical (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The material consists of a coarse dendritic microstructure as well as a retained BCC phase, which is the AlTiVCr phase. In the AlTiVCr – Si7.2 alloy a uniformly dispersed, angular intermetallic compound, namely the Ti5Si3, was identified, which increases the failure resistance of the material. Based on these findings the alloy will be redesigned.
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