E. Berghof-Hasselbächer, P.J. Masset, L. Zhang, L. Liu, Z. Jin, G. Schmidt, M. Galetz, M. Schütze
May 23, 2013
Abstract
Alloying with rare earth metals improves to the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of aluminium base alloys at high temperatures. The rare earth metal erbium may be used for grain refinement. Within a project of computer-aided alloy development based on the CALPHAD ( CALculation of PHAse Diagrams ) method various alloys were melted on the Al-rich side of the ternary system Al-Cu-Er under argon atmosphere and their microstructures were characterized in the as-cast state or after long-term isothermal annealing (400°C/960 h) by means of different investigation techniques. As a result, the phases fcc(Al), τ 1 -Al 8 Cu 4 Er, θ-CuAl 2 , η-CuAl, and Al 3 Er were identified, their compositions and fractions were quantified, and their hardnesses were determined. The experimental obtained microstructures agree very well with the calculated solidification behaviors of the cast alloys. The knowledge gained from this work about the phase compositions and microstructures can also be utilized for the fine optimization of the phase diagram.