Calorimetric control of aluminium casting quality

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) combined with an entrained droplet technique [1] has been successfully used on a series of melt spun alloys wi th deliberate impurity additions to study the nucleation related aspects of secondary phase selection during solidification of dilute Al alloys. This paper illustrates how DSC is a sensitive tool for determining the effect im purities can have on the nucleation of secondary phases, and hence material properties of these alloys. Stepped cooling/isothermal holding profile DSC has also been used in preliminary investigations of the thermodynamic rang e of formation of the Al-Fe eutectic phases and their nucleation and growth solidification kinetics.