Calculated phase diagrams of aluminum alloys from binary Al–Cu to multicomponent commercial alloys

More than three decades have passed since the publication of Alan Prince’s book on multicomponent phase equilibria. The most significant development in this time has been the use of a combined computational/experimental approach to calculate multicomponent phase diagrams. This has led to important advances in the design and processing of structural and functional materials for practical applications. In this paper, we present a few examples focusing on aluminum alloys from the classical Al–Cu binary to multicomponent alloys with a view toward practical applications.