Thermodynamics based modelling of the precipitation kinetics in commercial aluminium alloys

A statistical model has been developed to predict the precipitation kinetics in commercial wrought aluminium alloys. The model, termed ClaNG, is based on a coupling of the Kampmann and Wagner framework with a thermodynamic database. Therewith, the model is capable of describing the simultaneous nucleation, growth and coarsening of all known stable phases in multi-component aluminium systems for arbitrary heat treatments. After a description of the model the precipitation kinetics of the wrought alloy AA5182 during homogenization is investigated experimentally to calibrate the model. The prediction quality of the calibrated model is validated by applying it to the precipitation kinetics in a different alloy, AA3104. The simulation results show good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, the model was applied to design an optimized homogenization process with improved energy balance for alloy AA3104. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.