Determination of latent heats for hypoeutectic AlSi₇Cu(1–4) and AlSi₉Cu(1–4) alloys applying thermal analysis technique

In recent years, the thermal analysis (TA) technique has been widely applied in aluminum foundries to predict alloy composition and microstructural constituents. This technique has been extended to solidification, providing valuable information for simulation experts, such as characteristic solidification temperatures, the amount of fraction solid, and the alloy feeding ability. This paper analyzes the solidification path of two series of hypoeutectic aluminum alloys, AlSi₇Cu(1–4) and AlSi₉Cu(1–4), applying differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and TA techniques. The alloys latent heat (LH) was measured with a DSC apparatus at a cooling rate of 10 °C min⁻¹. The cooling curve was analyzed to calculate the amount of fraction solid and LH released at 10 °C min⁻¹ cooling rate. The Newtonian technique of zero curves was used to establish a baseline and calculate the amount of fraction solid and its LH. The LH calculated by the TA method was compared with the measured values gained by applying DSC and with the calculated LH values obtained by applying the market-available JMatPro software package. The aim of the paper is to show the possibility of determining LH using the TA technique.