Influence of neodymium on amorphizability of RS Al-Fe-V-Si-Nd alloys: An investigation using time dependent nucleation theory

Time dependent nucleation theory was applied to calculate the incubation time required for α-Al nucleation in rapid solidified (RS) Al-Fe-V-Si-Nd alloys. The nucleation rates were calculated as a function of temperature , and the critical cooling rates required for the formation of amorphous α-Al at different neodymium concentrations were calculated too. The addition of neodymium increases the amorphizablity of α-Al by increasing the incubation time and decreasing the nucleation rate and the critical cooling rate. The calculations are fitted to experimental results when liquidus temperatures are estimated from an approximation, which treats Al-Fe-V-Si-Nd as quasi-binary Al-Fe system.