5th International Conference on Advances in Solidification Processes (ICASP-5) 5th International Symposium on Cutting Edge of Computer Simulation of Solidification, Casting and Refining (CSSCR-5)

The rapid solidification processing is frequently used to fabricate novel microstructures. In this work, the formation of novel microstructures in two Al-Cu alloys, i.e. hypoeutectic Al-26wt%Cu and hypereutectic Al-45wt%Cu alloy, in a steady magnetic field (SMF) was investigated using the conventional quenching technique. It was found that the application of the SMF led to appearance of a bulky θ-Al2Cu phase in Al-26wt%Cu and bulky supersaturated α solid solution Al-45wt%Cu alloy, respectively, which are impossible to appear under normal solidification conditions. The cooling curves of the quenched samples show that the cooling rate with a SMF is significantly higher than that without a SMF, and a larger undercooling before the onset of eutectic solidification was achieved in the SMF. The microstructure formation in the SMF can be explained using the phase diagram with metastable extensions.