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Quaternary Al-Cu-Mg-Si Q Phase: Sample Preparation, Heat Capacity Measurement and First-Principles Calculations

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Abstract

The quaternary Q phase is an important precipitate phase in the Al-Cu-Mg-Si alloy system and its accurate thermodynamic description is crucial for further tailoring this material class for light-weight structural applications. In order to achieve an improved thermochemical parameter set of this phase, we used a combination of experimental measurements and first-principles calculations, which was focussed on the heat capacity. Its accurate experimental determination required the preparation of pure samples of Q phase and sophisticated calorimetric measurements. On the theoretical side, a simultaneous treatment of lattice vibrations within the quasiharmonic approximation, electronic excitations, and configuration entropy within the compound energy formalism were required to achieve a complete description of the heat capacity. The evaluation demonstrates the high predictive power of the first-principles as well as the Calphad modeling.

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Acknowledgment

The funding of this work by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the joint Project PAK 461 under Grant Nos. Re1261/7, Ne428/12, and Schm 588/35 is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany

    Andrea Löffler, Hannes Engelhardt & Markus Rettenmayr

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Ali Zendegani, Fritz Körmann, Tilmann Hickel & Jörg Neugebauer

  3. Institute of Metallurgy, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Joachim Gröbner, Milan Hampl & Rainer Schmid-Fetzer

Authors
  1. Andrea Löffler
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  2. Ali Zendegani
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  3. Joachim Gröbner
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  4. Milan Hampl
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  5. Rainer Schmid-Fetzer
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  6. Hannes Engelhardt
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  7. Markus Rettenmayr
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  8. Fritz Körmann
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  9. Tilmann Hickel
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  10. Jörg Neugebauer
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Correspondence to Tilmann Hickel.

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Löffler, A., Zendegani, A., Gröbner, J. et al. Quaternary Al-Cu-Mg-Si Q Phase: Sample Preparation, Heat Capacity Measurement and First-Principles Calculations. J. Phase Equilib. Diffus. 37, 119–126 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11669-015-0426-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11669-015-0426-y

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