Development and Production of a Cast Al–Cu–Fe–Zn Alloy

Modern industry is known to require cost reduction in production and an increase in the service life of manufactured products. This drives a constantly growing demand for the development and production of materials with improved properties. The different crystal structures and limited solubility of Cu and Fe strictly restrict the alloying of Cu with iron and vice versa. However, the immiscibility of Cu and Fe allows for the creation of surfaces with completely different chemical compositions and physical properties within a single product. The addition of Al to a Cu–Fe alloy causes an fcc–bcc phase transformation and a transition to a B2 phase. The alloy is also alloyed with zinc to increase its corrosion resistance and ductility. Using the HEAPS software package, we have shown that the Al0.25Cu0.25Zn0.25Fe0.25 system does not have Laves phases and the alloy has an fcc lattice. The FactSage 8.0 thermodynamic modeling software package is used for a more detailed study of the phase transformations that occur during solidification in the alloys Al0.33Cu0.33Fe0.33, Al0.32Cu0.32Zn0.03Fe0.32, Al0.31Cu0.31Zn0.06Fe0.31, and Al0.25Cu0.25Zn0.25Fe0.25. Alloy samples are prepared in an 18-kW induction furnace in an alumina crucible. The temperature was monitored using a tungsten–rhenium thermocouple. The sequence of loading materials for alloy production is different. The synthesized alloys are analyzed by X-ray diffraction. X-ray diffraction patterns are recorded on a Shimadzu XRD diffractometer at a counting time of 2 s per point in the angle range 2θ = 10°–90° at a step of 0.02°. AlCuZnFe alloy samples are analyzed on a Carl Zeiss EVO 40 scanning electron microscope at magnifications of 500, 1000, and 1200 in the SE mode. AlCuZnFe alloys have a significant potential for further investigations due to the presence of a favorable phase distribution; however, the development of a technology for producing an alloy of a specified composition presents some difficulty.