Influence of impurities and cooling rate on the microstructure and phase composition of new Al–3.5Zn–3.5Mg–3.5Cu–Y(Er)–Zr–Cr alloys in as-cast and homogenized states
摘要
A detailed study of the effect of cooling rate and impurities (iron and silicon) on the microstructure and phase composition of new casting alloys, such as Al–3.5Zn–3.5Mg–3.5Cu–1Y(1.6Er)–0.2Zr–0.2Cr–(0.15–0.5)Fe–(0.15–0.5)Si–0.1Ti, revealed a number of important features. In all four studied compositions, the iron impurity is almost completely (0.15–0.5%) dissolved in the crystallization phase—(Al, Zn, Fe)8Cu4Y(Er). Individual particles of the Al3Fe phase were detected after homogenization of alloys that were crystallized at a minimum cooling rate (0.016 K/s). During crystallization of the Er-containing alloys, only one phase (Mg2Si) is formed by the silicon impurity (0.15–0.5%). In the Y‑containing alloys, additional needle–shaped crystals of the (Al, Cu)4YSi phase were identified. In general, it can be noted that the phase composition of the Er-containing alloys is not sensitive to the impurity content in the studied range, while in case of the Y‑containing alloys, only silicon impurity content should be limited to 0.15% to avoid a decrease in ductility due to coarse needle-shaped particles.