PM_G_11: Freeze-in Electrical Resistivity

The example uses the Property Model Calculator and the Equilibrium with Freeze-in Temperature Property Model to compare the use of the model for electrical resistivity with and without grain boundary (GB) scattering being included in the calculation.

The TCS Al-based Alloy Database (TCAL) is used to evaluate a 4032-O alloy (Al-0.9Cu-1.0Mg-0.9Ni-12.2Si) mass%. The "O" in the alloy name means that the Al alloy has been heat-treated at a typical temperature of 350 °C. The measurement of electric resistivity is usually performed at room temperature.

The electrical resistivity due to grain boundary phase scattering is approximated as a scattering constant times the total volume fraction of the grain boundary phases.

The calculation set up assumes that the alloy reaches equilibrium at the "O" heat-treated temperature, i.e. that the amounts of phases and their composition freeze-in at 350 °C and that these do not change for the evaluation of electrical resistivity at the room temperature. Calculations are compared between accounting and ignoring contributions from grain boundary (GB) scattering.

As can be seen from Figure 1, the calculated electrical resistivity at room temperature, including grain boundary phase scattering, is very close to the experimentally measured value (4.3E-8) for the alloy. Excluding the grain boundary phase scattering somewhat underestimates the electrical resistivity for the alloy. Experimental data is from [1993Dav].

About the Equilibrium with Freeze-in Temperature Property Model

Visualizations

Many of our Graphical Mode examples have video tutorials, which you can access in a variety of ways. When in Thermo‑Calc, from the menu select Help → Video Tutorials, or from the main My Project window, click Video Tutorials. Alternately, you can go to the website or our YouTube channel.

Open the example project file to review the node setup on the Project window and the associated settings on the Configuration window for each node. For some types of projects, you can also adjust settings on the Plot Renderer Configuration window to preview results before performing the simulation. Click Perform Tree to generate plots and tables to see the results on the Visualizations window.

Comparing the freeze-in temperature for the 4032-O alloy with and without grain boundary (GB) scattering included in the calculations.

Figure 1: Comparing the freeze-in temperature for the 4032-O alloy with and without grain boundary (GB) scattering included in the calculations.

Reference

[1993Dav] J.R. Davis, ASM Specialty Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys, 1993, ASM International. Pages: 784. ISBN: 978-0-87170-496-2.