Some physical properties of Al-Sn-Zn melts

Abstract

Al-Sn-Zn alloys are considered to be a good alternative for lead-containing solders; however, their physical properties at high temperatures are investigated insufficiently. In this work we have studied density (by gamma-absorption method), electrical resistivity (by contactless method in rotating magnetic field) and magnetic susceptibility (by Faraday's method) of some Al-Sn-Zn alloys containing up to 10 % of aluminum and up to 65% of zinc. The enlargement of zinc content resulted in the decrease in density and susceptibility values, except for one sample. The resistivity values practically didn't depend on zinc content in crystalline state, whereas it had maximum for one of the samples in liquid state, which might be attributed to the appearance of ternary high-melted intermetallic compound. The hysteresis, i.e. incoincidence of heating and cooling curves in electronic properties, which has been observed for tin-rich samples, might be due to irreversible transition from microheterogeneous state of the melt to true solution state. The work has been made in the frames of COST Action MP0602.