Effects of supercooling and cooling rate on the microstructure of Cu-Co-Fe alloys

The effects of supercooling and cooling rate on the microstructure of ternary Cu-Fe-Co alloys were investigated. Electromagnetic levitation was used to supercool the liquids down by 180 K. Alloys with 11 at.% Cu and less than 19 at.% Fe contained fcc (Fe, Co) and fcc Cu phases; those with 19 to 23 at.% Fe contained bcc (Fe, Co), fcc (Fe, Co) and fcc Cu; those with more than 23 at.% Fe contained bcc (Fe, Co) and fcc Cu. The primary dendrites contained 10 to 20 at.% Cu, with Fe and Co contents depending on the alloy composition. Supercooling the melt below a certain temperature resulted in metastable separation of the melt into two liquids, one (Co + Fe)-rich, the other Cu-rich. The metastable phase separation temperatures and the two liquid compositions were determined experimentaly, and compared with calculated ones. Isothermal cross-sections at various temperatures were constructed for stable and metastable cases based on thermodynamic and experimental data of the Cu-Co, Cu-Fe, and Co-Fe systems. A peritectic reaction for the ternary alloys was found at approximately 1100 degrees C. (c) 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.