Phase transformations and aging of the Cu72.9Al15.0Mn10.5Ag1.6 alloy

The phase transformations and aging of the Cu72.9Al15.0Mn10.5Ag1.6 alloy were studied in the temperature range from 523 to 723 K using measurement of change in microhardness with variation in quenching temperature and aging time, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), magnetization measurements with temperature and applied field, optical microscopy (MO) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results indicated that the bainitic precipitation is dominant with increase in microhardness and the activation energy value obtained for this process is lower than that reported in the literature due to the occurrence of a diffusion process disturbed by the presence of Ag dissolved in the alloy.