Influence of the precipitation of secondary phase on the thermal diffusivity change of Al-Mg2Si alloys

Abstract

Al-Si-Mg alloys are investigated to determine the relationship between changes in the thermal diffusivity and precipitation behavior of the Mg2Si phase with various contents of Mg2Si and aging treatment conditions. The samples were solid solution-treated and then quenched with water (80 °C). Aging treatments were implemented at temperatures ranging from 180 to 240 °C for 5 h. The precipitation behavior of Mg2Si was observed using a heat flow curve using differential scanning calorimetry analysis. The thermal diffusivity of Al-Mg2Si alloy was affected by the precipitation of the Mg2Si phase, particularly in the meta-stable β phase. In the temperature range of precipitation occurrence, the thermal diffusivity of the alloy increased with the temperature when the precipitation of the meta-stable β phase of the sample was incomplete. However, at the same temperature, the samples in which precipitation had completed did not have any increased thermal diffusivity. The thermal diffusivity of the samples decreased when the meta-stable Mg2Si phase had dissolved in the matrix. The precipitation and dissolution of Mg2Si mainly affected the variation of thermal diffusivity in Al-Si-Mg. In contrast, the stable Mg2Si phase was not affected by changes in thermal diffusivity at a high temperature.