Interaction Between Eutectic Intermetallic Particles and Dispersoids in the 3003 Aluminum Alloy During Homogenization Treatments

The transformation of primary eutectic Al₆(Mn,Fe) intermetallics into α-Al(Mn,Fe)Si and the precipitation of dispersoids were studied in the commercial in the form of 3003 series cast aluminum alloys, mainly under isothermal conditions between 673 K and 873 K (400 °C and 600 °C). After solidification, both the solid solution and the primary eutectic intermetallics were far from equilibrium. During further heat treatment, the precipitation of fine dispersoids and eutectoid transformation of the primary eutectic particles occurred simultaneously. Having characterized these evolutions under industrial homogenization conditions, the evolution of the microstructure (in terms of its nature, and the quantity, size, and chemical composition of the phases) was characterized during isothermal heat treatment, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations, quantitative image analysis, and transmission electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS). The experimental results are analyzed, and changes in chemical composition are discussed and compared with the calculated equilibrium compositions. It is shown that (1) the chemical composition of eutectic intermetallics evolves and tends toward an equilibrium composition; (2) during precipitation, the chemical composition of dispersoids is constant, and close to the expected equilibrium composition when the initial mean composition of the solidification cell is taken into account; (3) after the formation of dispersoids, the quantity of α-Al(Mn,Fe)Si formed from the initial eutectic intermetallics increased, with the kinetics being controlled by long-range manganese diffusion; and (4) the latter evolution is associated with the dissolution of dispersoids located close to eutectic intermetallics and contributes to the formation of a dispersoid-free zone (DFZ).