Structural Changes of α Phase in Furnace Cooled Eutectoid Zn-Al Based Alloy

Furnace cooling is a slow cooling process. It is of importance to study structural evolution and its effects on the properties of alloys during the furnace cooling. Decomposition of aluminium rich α phase in a furnace cooled eutectoid Zn-Al based alloy was studied by transmission electron microscopy. Two kinds of precipitates in the α phase were detected in the FCZA22 alloy during ageing at 170℃. One was the hcp transitional α＂ m phase which aooears as directional rods and the round precipitates. The other was the fcc α＇m phase. 〈101〉. The orientation relationship between the a phase and transitional phase α＇m was determined as （022）α＇m （fcc）//（022^-）α（fcc）, 1^-11]α＇m, （fcc）//2^-33]α（fcc）. The non-equilibrium phase decomposition of the α phase is discussed in correlation with the equilibrium phase relationships.