THE INFLUENCE OF POWDER PARTICLE-SIZE ON THE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF2 RAPIDLY SOLIDIFIED AL-FE-CE ALLOYS .1. POWDER CHARACTERISTICS

In the present investigation, atomised powders having approximate comp ositions Al-7 wt.% Fe-6 wt.% Ce and Al-7 wt.% Fe-6 wt.% Ce-2 wt.% Si w ere separated into -32 mum and +32 to -63 mum size fractions. The powd er microstructures were characterised by means of TEM, X-ray diffracti on and DSC. The investigations showed that the microstructures of the -32 mum particles were stable at temperatures up to 400-degrees-C. How ever, for the +32 to -63 mum powder particles, only the microstructure of the quaternary alloy remained stable up to 400-degrees-C. This was attributed to the presence of the Al12Fe3Si phase in this alloy.