Thermal stability of Al/Al11 Ce3 and Al/Al11 La3 /Al3 Ni eutectics obtained by Bridgman growth

Abstract

The effects of extended treatment at 500°C on microstructure and microhardness of Al/Al₁₁ Ce₃ and Al/Al₁₁ La₃ /Al₃ Ni eutectics in Al–12·1Ce and Al–11·3La–5·4Ni (wt-%) alloys Bridgman solidified at 0·1 mm s^-1 are reported. Coarsening of Al/Al₁₁ Ce₃ occurs more rapidly in some eutectic cells than others such that areas coarsening at a lower rate still form 10% of the microstructure even after 3024 h. It was found that Al/Al₁₁ La₃ /Al₃ Ni showed accelerated coarsening at eutectic cell boundaries but association between Al₁₁ La₃ and Al₃ Ni still remained within cells and at cell boundaries even after 3024 h. Associated decreases in hardness for Al/Al₁₁ Ce₃ were similar to fibrous Al/Al₆ Fe of similar initial spacing subjected to the same heat treatment. The 30% higher initial hardness of Al/Al₁₁ La₃ /Al₃ Ni largely persisted even after 3024 h at 500°C.