Melting of secondary-phase particles in Al-Mg-Si alloys

Abstract

The melting of secondary-phase particles—or, more precisely, the melting of such particles together with the surrounding matrix—in two ternary Al-Mg-Si alloys has been studied. In the quasi-binary Al-Mg₂Si alloy, one melting reaction is found. In the alloy with an Si content in excess of that necessary to form Mg₂Si, three different melting reactions are observed. At upquenching temperatures above the eutectic temperature, the reaction rates are very high, and it is assumed that they are controlled by diffusion of the alloying elements in the liquid. Melting is also observed after prolonged annealing at temperatures below the eutectic temperature in these alloys, which is explained by the different diffusion rates of Mg and Si. The rate of the melting reaction is in this case assumed to be controlled by diffusion of the alloying elements in the solid α-Al phase. It is shown that calculation of the particle/matrix interface composition, which determines when melting is possible, cannot be made solely on the basis of the phase diagram, but must also include the rate of diffusion of Mg and Si. The melting temperatures observed differ somewhat from the accepted eutectic temperatures for these alloys. On prolonged annealing, the liquid droplets formed dissolve into the surrounding matrix and their chemical composition is found to change during dissolution. The resulting eutectic structure after quenching of a droplet is explained by the phase diagram and the different diffusion rates of Mg and Si as well as by the nucleation conditions of the constituents involved.