DETERMINATION OF LATENT HEAT FOR ALSI7CU1 ALLOY APPLYING DSC, TA, AND COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE PACKAGES

Latent heat of cast hypoeutectic aluminum alloys is commonly measured using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) or calculated using software packages (Thermo-Calc, JMatPro, FactSage) as well as applying cooling curve analysis (Thermal analysis technique). This study used the DSC method to comprehensively evaluate the accuracy of calculated latent heat for a specific AlSi7Cu1 alloy, considering its solidification under different cooling conditions. The alloy was analyzed under three distinct cooling/heating rates: 6, 10, and 50 °C/min. The commercial software packages (Thermo-Calc, JMatPro, and Fact Sage) and thermal analysis techniques (Newtonian, Fourier, and Energy balance methods) were used to calculate the investigated alloys' latent heat. The results obtained show good agreement between the measured and calculated values. Higher cooling rates, such as 50 °C/min, resulted in a reduced latent heat release compared to slower rates, such as 10 °C/min and 6 °C/min.