The microstructure that is attributable from the distinct casting method dictates new engineering and physical attributes of the material. To understand how to manage the microstructure of the casts, it is necessary to comprehend the differences in microstructure through crystallisation. The effects of cooling rate (0.5, 0.9 and 2.1 °C s⁻¹) on the characteristic parameters of the evaluation of aluminium dendrites in Al–Mg alloy during solidification at different cooling rates were investigated by thermal derivative analysis. Because of the facts that castability is influenced significantly by the dendrite coherency point, which represents the time, temperature, and solid fraction at which interlocking solid network forms through solidification, an increment in the solid fraction at coherency can improve the casting attributes of the material and diminish casting defects. Castability of aluminium is defined with a new approach based on one thermocouple thermal analysis technique of fraction solid at a dendrite coherency point. Changes of sample linear dimensions and the coefficient of linear thermal expansion and diagrams of this coefficient as a temperature function during heating and cooling cycle of investigated materials were registered and presented. The analysis shows that the thermal interpretation is carried out on Universal Metallurgical Simulator and Analyzer device which is a useful instrument for the accumulation and calculation of thermal parameters. The manuscript provides to the better understanding non-equilibrium metallurgical characterisation of aluminium alloys.

For determining of the micro-structural changes taking place in a near eutectic Al-Si-Cu aluminium cast alloy during heating and cooling process the UMSA device (Universal Metallurgical Simulator and Analyzer) was used. In this work the dependence between the regulated cooling speed and structure on the basis of the thermo-analysis was carried out. The thermal analysis was performed at a cooling rate in a range of 0,2 °C to 1,25 °C. The changes were examined and evaluated qualitatively by optical and electron scanning microscopy methods and the EDS microanalysis. During the investigation the formation of aluminium reach (α-Al) dendrites was revealed and also the occurrence of the α+β eutectic, the ternary eutectic α+Al2Cu+β, as well a iron and manganese containing phase was confirmed. The performed investigation are discussed for the reason of an possible improvement of thermal and structural properties of the alloy. The achieved results can be used for liquid metal processing in science and industry – for example foundry for developing and obtaining of a required alloy microstructure and properties influenced by a proper production conditions.

In this study, the change of the cooling rate in the range of about 0.1–1 °C s⁻¹ and the addition of Sr on the crystallization kinetics of the cast zinc alloys of the ZnAlCu type, as well as its relation to the microstructure were also investigated. Therefore, the aim of the rapid crystallisation is the achievement of materials with better properties, which can be obtained by refinement of the dendritic or eutectic microstructure, elimination of segregation, or creation of metastable phases and their morphology changes. In the investigated alloys, the change of cooling rate of 1 °C s⁻¹ has caused microstructure’s refinement as well as increase in hardness. Increase in the cooling rate causes also morphology changes of the η + α eutectic, and makes generally a global overcooling of the alloy as well as change in the temperatures at the beginning of crystallization T _DN and of the alloy crystallization T _S. The presented investigations concerning the electron microscopy methods, including transmission electron microscopy, allow revealing the crystallographic structure, based on the d-spacing changes, as well as the diffraction method used for phase determination, which is a helpful tool for the explanation of the important points in the thermo-derivative analysis curve, where the relation between the amount of phase and the occurrence of new phases can be determined.

Although Zn alloys are a very widely used material, there is a need for investigations concerning the influence of thermal conditions on its microstructure and its properties, which makes it useful for the specific tasks it has to fulfil for mass-produced items manufactured by the metalworking industry, in the automotive industry, as well as in countless electronic components. One of the possibilities is to create finer microstructures and enhance their properties, to change their chemical composition by adding alloying additives, and inoculation using modifiers. So in this paper, investigation results are presented concerning the influence of chosen alloying additives, such as Sr, Ce and Ti–B on the measured and calculated thermal characteristics and microstructure of zinc alloys with the addition of aluminium and copper. Based on the results on the phase and chemical composition of the cast Zn–Al–Cu alloys, inoculated with Sr and Ti–B, no differences were detected in the phase composition of the investigated alloys, owing to changes in cooling rates, which were chosen for the sample cooling process. A small amount of added cerium caused the occurrence of new phases present in the microstructure. Modification of the Zn–Al–Cu alloy precipitates changes in the thermomorphology of the phase and the ‘tweed’ type changes in the microstructure. Moreover, the addition of cerium causes a decrease in the temperature at the beginning ( ) and the end of the solidification, as well as the occurrence of a multicomponent eutectic, which can be detected on the derivative curve.

For determination of the structure and properties of those alloys, the following investigations were carried out: scanning microscopy and EDS X-ray analysis. Investigations concerning the optimal chemical composition and production method of Cu–Ni–Si alloys modified by Cr and Re as well as the improved properties in comparison with traditional alloys contribute to better understanding of mechanisms influencing the improvement of mechanical properties of the newly developed alloys. Thermal analysis of the crystallization process allows for accurate calculation of latent heat of various phases developed during solidification. Based on the assumption that the latent crystallization heat is proportional to the share of various phases in the alloy, the thermo-derivative analysis also allows the calculation of the amount of crystallized phases. Calculation of the properties as mentioned earlier is based on the characteristic points determined in a derivative curve. The adequately selected chemical composition of the alloy, as well as the appropriate cooling rate and heat treatment conditions, leads to improvement of functional properties of manufactured elements. For the analysed alloys, a thermal derivative analysis was used to determine the kinetics of crystallization and the temperature of the beginning and the end of a phase and eutectic crystallization, mainly the liquidus temperature (T_L) and solidus temperature (T_SOL). The T_SOL temperature determined on thermal derivative analysis is the upper limit of supersaturation of the tested alloys. The conductivity and microhardness of the tested alloys were also measured in the function of the chemical composition and the state (i.e., heat treatment).

In this work the effect of Mg addition on structure as well as kinetics of crystallisation of Zn-Al-Cu cast alloy was presented. To the zinc alloy was added 0.1% mass of Mg. The alloy was cast into a metal mould. Thermo-derivative analysis was performed using the UMSA platform (Universal Metallurgical Simulator and Analyzer). The investigated alloys were freely cooled down with a rate of 0.1°C s^-1. For the structure analysis were used results obtained using light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy.