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Influence of Cu and Cr contents on the solidification path and microstructure formation of hypoeutectic as-cast Al–Cu–Cr alloys

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Abstract

The present work investigates the influence of different Cu–Cr ratios on the solidification path and microstructure formation in as-cast hypoeutectic Al–(2.5, 3.5, 4.5)Cu alloys with additions of 0.25 and 0.50Cr (mass%). The alloys were prepared by melting pure aluminum, electrolytic copper, and pure chromium. Thermal analyses based on cooling curves were carried out to determine the solidification intervals and transformation temperatures of each alloy with low and moderate cooling conditions. Comparisons with data obtained from both differential thermal analyses (DTA) and simulations using the Thermo-Calc thermodynamics software were done. Samples were taken from the solidified ingots, and subjected to metallographic investigations (optical—OM and scanning electron—SEM microscopies), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and Vickers microhardness (HV) measurements. Thermal analyses showed that the Liquidus and Solidus temperatures were practically unaffected by the range of cooling rates investigated in this work. Microstructural analyses revealed that Cr additions refined the microstructure when compared to the binary Al–Cu alloys. SEM with semi-quantitative EDS (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) analyses permitted to identify the presence of the CuAl2 intermetallic compound, AlCuCrFe precipitates, and some dispersed needle-like Al–Fe particles in all samples. The XRD analyses confirmed peaks of the α-Al (cubic, matrix) and CuAl2 (tetragonal, interdendritic) phases. Additional peaks were undetected due to the small contents of the investigated alloys. As the alloy Cu and Cr contents increased, microhardness values increased.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support provided by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq—Brazil): Grant No.: 403303/2016-8, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP—Brazil): Grant No.: 0082/16, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS—Brazil), and Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS—Brazil). This study was also financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES—Brazil)—Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Technology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, R.S., 90.619-900, Brazil

    Denis Silva Grillo Elesbão, Eleani Maria da Costa & Carlos Alexandre dos Santos

  2. Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, S.P., 13083-860, Brazil

    Rafael Kakitani, Noé Cheung & Amauri Garcia

  3. School of Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, R.S., 91.501-970, Brazil

    Vinicius Karlinski de Barcellos

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  1. Denis Silva Grillo Elesbão
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design, material preparation, data collection and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by DSGE and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Carlos Alexandre dos Santos.

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Elesbão, D.S.G., Kakitani, R., Cheung, N. et al. Influence of Cu and Cr contents on the solidification path and microstructure formation of hypoeutectic as-cast Al–Cu–Cr alloys. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 9403–9421 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12346-3

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