In AA2618 aluminum alloy, the iron- and nickel-rich intermetallics formed during solidification are of great effect on the mechanical properties of the alloy at both room temperature and elevated temperatures. However, the solidification behavior of the alloy and the formation mechanism of the intermetallics during solidification of the alloy are not clear. This research fills the gap and contributes to understanding the intermetallic of the alloy. The results showed that cooling rate was of great influence on the formation of the intermetallics. Under the condition of slow cooling, the as-cast microstructures of the alloy were complex with many coarse eutectic compounds including Al₉FeNi, Al₇(CuNi)₅, Si, Al₂Cu and Al₂CuMg. The phase Al₉FeNi was the dominant intermetallic compound, which precipitated at the earlier stage of the solidification by eutectic reaction L → α-Al + Al₉FeNi. Increasing the cooling rate would suppress the formation of the coarse eutectic intermetallics. Under the condition of near-rapid cooling, the as-cast microstructures of the alloy consisted of metastable intermetallics Al₉FeNi and Al₂Cu; the equilibrium eutectic compounds were suppressed. This research concluded that intermetallics could be refined to a great extent by near-rapid cooling.
Keywords: AA2618 alloy; aluminum alloy; microstructure; near-rapid cooling; solidification behavior.