Effect of Pressure and Gravitational Field on the Distribution of Cu during the Directed Growth of a Single Crystal of the Alloy Al–0.005 wt % Cu

Abstract

Abstract—Using quantitative X-ray spectral analysis and metallography, the distribution of copper concentration in the α-solid solution of Al and the dislocation density in single crystals of the Al alloy–0.005 wt % Cu, grown from the melt at different values of argon pressure (Ar) and the gravitational field component (gmg) directed along the surface of the crystallization front. A strong inhomogeneity in the copper concentration measured in adjacent areas of the cross-sectional surface of the crystal and its correlation with the inhomogeneity of the distribution of dislocations in single crystals of the alloy, which depends on pressure and the gravitational field component, were discovered. The mechanism of relaxation of the excess free volume of the phase transformation released in the region of the interphase boundary during crystal growth is considered.