Compatibility of Al-Si eutectic alloy and Zr-2 at different heat-treatment temperature

To investigate the compatibility of Al-Si eutectic alloy and Zr-2 at different heat-treatment temperature for different time, the couple of them was prepared by powder-metallurgy method. The micro-structure and element distribution have been measured with SEM, EDS, and XRD. It is shown that the heat-treatment temperature and the state of Al-Si alloy greatly influence the compatibility. At 650 degree C x 40 h, the dramatic diffusion layer has been formed due to the infiltration and diffusion of liquid Al-Si alloy. At 560 degree C x 240 h, the diffusion layer is very thin because there exists a solid state diffusion only. At 350 degree C x 240 h, due to a much smaller diffusion coefficient, almost no diffusion layer occurs, which means a good compatibility between Al-Si eutectic alloy and Zr-2 at this temperature. (authors)