Investigating the Al-Cr-La ternary system: Al-rich corner phase equilibria at 600 °C

The phase equilibria of the ternary Al-Cr-La system were investigated in the Al-rich corner at 600 °C, with a minimum Al content of 98.77 at.%. The formed phases, transformation temperatures (specifically liquidus and solidus), and microstructure evolution were experimentally determined by isothermal annealing at 600 °C for 600 hours and by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis. A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDXS) was used to fully characterize the samples. The equilibrium microstructure consists of (Al), the binary phase Al43Cr7, and the ternary phase LaCr2Al20 in samples with increased Cr content (from 0.03 up to 1.12 at.%), while it consists of (Al), the mixture (Al) + Al11La3, and the ternary LaCr2Al11 phase in samples with increased La content (from 0.03 up to 0.45 at.%). It was observed that even a small amount of alloying elements leads to the formation of the ternary phase. © 2026, Technical Faculty in Bor. All rights reserved.