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Clustering and Vacancy Behavior in High- and Low-Solute Al-Mg-Si Alloys

Abstract

The precipitate microstructure and vacancy distribution in Al-Mg-Si alloys with different amounts of solute and different heat treatments were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and muon spin relaxation measurements. A high amount of vacancies is normally present in Al-Mg-Si alloys as these bind to atomic clusters. We observe these vacancies to leave the material not before over-aging at very high temperatures such as 623 K (350 °C), meaning that vacancies do not bind to incoherent over-aged precipitates. For samples only stored at room temperature after solution heat treatment, a reduction of muon trapping was found at a temperature of 140 K (−133 °C) when reducing the amount of solute in the alloy. This might be connected to a lower number density of Cluster (1), which contrary to Cluster (2) do not nucleate precipitates upon further aging of the material.
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Industry / Materials and Nanotechnology
  • United Kingdom
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • Toyama University
  • Riken

Year

2014

Published in

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A

ISSN

1073-5623

Volume

45

Page(s)

5777 - 5781

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository