New quaternary eutectic Al-Cu-Ca-Si system for designing precipitation hardening alloys

The aluminum corner of the previously unexplored quaternary eutectic Al-Cu-Ca-Si system promising for the design of new heat treatable alloys have been studied using thermodynamic modeling and experimental techniques. The experimental data have revealed the presence in equilibrium of a previously undescribed quaternary compound identified as a strict stoichiometric Al2CaSiCu phase with a tetragonal I4/mmm structure (Pearson symbol: tI10) and the lattice parameters a = 4.04 Å and c = 11.00 Å. The phase has a density of 3.36 g/cm3 and a microhardness of 335 Hv. In accordance with the suggested structure of the phase diagram, its region that can be promising for the design of heat treatable alloys contains three (Al)+Al2Cu+Al2CaSiCu, (Al)+Al2Si2Ca+Al2CaSiCu and (Al)+Al2Cu+Al2Si2Ca quasi-ternary sections and two (Al)+Al2Cu+Al2Si2Ca+Al2CaSiCu and (Al)+Al2Cu+Al2CaSiCu+Si four-phase fields. Analysis of the precipitation hardening response for the new quaternary Al-5 wt%Cu-Ca-Si alloys suggests that it is not inferior (the obtained peak hardness is ∼125 Hv) to that for the alloys Al-5 wt% Cu (∼120 Hv) and Al-4 wt%Si-5 wt%Cu (∼125 Hv) based on the conventionally used systems. However, to obtain noticeable hardening at aging, the content of silicon should be at least 1.1–1.2 times higher than that of calcium. A comparative hot tearing susceptibility (HTS) study revealed that the new heat treatable Al-5 wt%Cu-Ca-Si alloys have higher hot tearing resistances (HTS ∼16 mm according to a pencil probe) than that of the Al-5 wt%Cu base alloy (HTS >16 mm). •The new Al-Cu-Ca-Si system proved to be suitable for the design of the precipitation hardening alloys.•A new quaternary Al2CaSiCu compound and its physical and mechanical properties are studied.•The hardening in the new Al-5 %Cu-Ca-Si alloys is not inferior to that for alloys based on the conventionally used systems.•To obtain a high precipitation hardening response, the Si/Ca ratio should be at least 1.1–1.2.