Measurement of young’s modulus and hardness of Al-50 wt % Sn alloy phases using nanoindentation

The nanoindentation method was used to measure the Young’s modulus and hardness of the phases of the alloy Al-50 wt % Sn: α-aluminum and eutectic. Samples are obtained in different ways, i.e., traditionally via the transition of the melt into a homogeneous structural state by heating to a certain temperature, followed by cooling using the cooling rate greater by the order than that of the traditional method and via the addition of 0.06 wt % Ti and 1 wt % Zr to the binary alloy. It has been found that the most significant effect of the Al-50 wt % Sn phases on the Young’s modulus is the transition of the melt into a homogeneous structural state and the introduction of Zr into the melt. As part of the mathematical theory of elasticity, a numerical evaluation of the interfacial pressure that arises due to the difference between Young’s modulus of α aluminum and eutectic has been performed. The calculation has showed that the extra pressure is nine times less for the alloy formed through the transition of the melt into a homogeneous structural state than for the alloy produced via a traditional way.