Phase equilibria and thermodynamics of the Fe–Al–C system: Critical evaluation, experiment and thermodynamic optimization

Abstract In order to provide an efficient tool to design alloy chemistry and processing conditions for high-strength, lightweight steel, an investigation of the Fe–Al–C ternary system was carried out by experimental phase diagram measurement and a CALPHAD thermodynamic analysis. Discrepancies between previously available experimental results and thermodynamic calculations were identified. The Fe–Al sub-binary system was re-optimized in order to obtain an accurate description of the liquid phase, while Gibbs energies of solid phases were mainly taken from a previous thermodynamic modeling. Phase equilibria among face-centered cubic (fcc)/body-centered cubic (bcc)/graphite/κ-carbide/liquid phases in the Fe–Al–C system in the temperature range from 1000 to 1400 °C were obtained by chemical equilibration followed by quenching, and subsequent composition analysis using electron probe microanalysis/inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. By merging the revised Fe–Al binary description with existing Fe–C and Al–C binary descriptions, a complete thermodynamic description of the Fe–Al–C system was obtained in the present study. The modified quasi-chemical model in the pair approximation was used to model the liquid phase, while solid solutions were modeled using compound energy formalism. A2/B2 order/disorder transition in the bcc phase was taken into account. Compared with previously known experiments/thermodynamic modeling, a better agreement was obtained in the present study, regarding the stable region of fcc and the solidification thermal peak of a ternary alloy near the liquidus temperature. The obtained thermodynamic description also reproduced various types of experimental data in the Fe–Al–C system such as isothermal sections, vertical sections, liquidus projection, etc. The solidification of various steel grades was predicted and discussed.