EFFECT OF THE PRECIPITATION ON THE THERMOELECTRIC POWER OF Al-Mg-Si ALLOYS : APPLICATION TO THE STUDY OF THE PRECIPITATION KINETICS

摘要

The thermoelectric power (TEP) of a 6061 alloy was measured during isothermal ageings performed in the temperature range 100-500°C. A correlation was established between the TEP evolutions and the precipitation kinetics of the various metastable phases, using additional TEM observations and resistivity measurements. It was demonstrated that it is possible to associate with each precipitation sequence a typical TEP evolution, owing to the intrinsic effect of each precipitate and to assess the residual concentration of the alloying elements in the final equilibrium state of the precipitation.