Microstructure Transition of Liquid Metal AlDuring Heating and Cooling Processes

Abstract

A simulation study of the transition properties of microstructures of liquidmetal Al during heating and cooling processes has been performed by themolecular dynamics method. It is demonstrated that in the temperature rangeof 1800-350 K, the 1551, 1541, 1431, 1311, 1321 and 1422 bond typesrepresented by the Honeycutt-Andersen index play an important role. Especially,the 1551 bond type plays a leading role and is the decisive factor for thechange of the second peak of the pair distribution function froma smooth sine peak into two split secondary peaks via a platform during allthe processes of microstructure transitions. From the variation curve of the1551 bond type, it can be clearly seen that there are five rapidly changingranges corresponding qualitatively to the critical transition points ofmicrostructures of the system detected experimentally.