Precipitation of dispersoids in aluminum alloys

The influence of alloy composition and preheat treatment on the precipitation of the metastable Al3Zr, β', phase in ternary alloys and the subsequent recrystallization behavior was investigated. The ternary alloys contained zirconium and one of the following elements: copper, manganese, zinc, or silicon. Diffusion couples were constructed and the values for the interdiffusion coefficient for several elements in aluminum were calculated. The calculated values for the interdiffusion coefficients were used in a finite difference model for the prediction of the homogenization of an as-cast microstructure during preheating. β' was observed to precipitate on defects such as dislocations and low-angle boundaries when a critical solute level in all ternary alloys was reached. The critical solute level was system dependent. Homogeneous nucleation of β' occurred in Al-Si-Zr alloys. In Al-Zn-Zr alloys the shape of the β' deviated from its usual spherical shape to a cube shape when the zinc level exceeds approximately 4 wt. %. When compared to other alloying element additions, small amounts of silicon (between 0.25 and 0.5 wt %) had the greatest influence on not only the recrystallization behavior of the alloy, but also the precipitation of β'