Iron intermetallic phases in the Al corner of the Al-Si-Fe system

The iron intermetallics observed in six dilute Al-Si-Fe alloys were studied using thermal analysis, optical microscopy, and image, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray, and electron probe microanalysis/wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (EPMA/WDS) analyses. The alloys were solidified in two different molds, a preheated graphite mold (600 °C) and a cylindrical metallic mold (at room temperature), to obtain slow (∼0.2 °C/s) and rapid (∼15 °C/s) cooling rates. The results show that the volume fraction of iron intermetallics obtained increases with the increase in the amount of Fe and Si added, as well as with the decrease in cooling rate. The low cooling rate produces larger-sized intermetallics, whereas the high cooling rate results in a higher density of intermetallics. Iron addition alone is more effective than either Si or Fe+Si additions in producing intermetallics. The alloy composition and cooling rate control the stability of the intermetallic phases: binary Al-Fe phases predominate at low cooling rates and a high Fe:Si ratio; the β-Al5FeSi phase is dominant at a high Si content and low cooling rate; the α-iron intermetallics (e.g., α-Al8Fe2Si) exist between these two; while Si-rich ternary phases such as the δ-iron Al4FeSi2 intermetallic are stabilized at high cooling rates and Si contents of 0.9 wt pct and higher. Calculations of the solidification paths representing segregations of Fe and Si to the liquid using the Scheil equation did not conform to the actual solidification paths, due to the fact that solid diffusion is not taken into account in the equation. The theoretical models of Brody and Flemings[44] and Clyne and Kurz[45] also fail to explain the observed departure from the Scheil behavior, because these models give less weight to the effect of solid back-diffusion. An adjusted 500 °C metastable isothermal section of the Al-Si-Fe phase diagram has been proposed (in place of the equilibrium one), which correctly predicts the intermetallic phases that occur in this part of the system at low cooling rates (∼0.2 °C/s).