High-resolution observations of metastable γ’ precipitation in Al-15at.%Ag

Abstract

It is currently well established that, for an Al-Ag alloy quenched from the α phase and aged within the metastable solvus, the aging sequence is: supersaturated α → GP zones → γ’ → γ (Ag2Al). While GP zones and plate-shaped γ’ are metastable phases, continuously distributed in the matrix, formation of the equilibrium phase γ takes place at grain boundaries by discontinuous precipitation (DP). The crystal structure of both γ’ and γ is hep with the following orientation relationship with respect to the fee α matrix: {0001}γ′,γ // {111}α, <1120>γ′,γ, // <110>α.The mechanisms and kinetics of continuous matrix precipitation (CMP) in dilute Al-Ag alloys have been studied in considerable detail. The quantitative description of DP kinetics, however, has received less attention. The present contribution reports the microstructural evolution resulting from aging an Al-Ag alloy with Ag content higher than those previously reported in the literature, focusing the observations of γ' plate-shaped metastable precipitates.