The thermodynamic analysis of Guinier–Preston zones in aged supersaturated Al–Cu alloys

Abstract Being the structural cause of hardening, Guinier–Preston (GP) zones in many alloys still attract much interest. The expression of energy for GP zones in the Al–Cu alloy is established by combining the essential Gibbs energy with the interfacial energy and the strain energy. Based on the equilibrium between GP zones and the surrounding matrix, a quantitative analysis on the sizes, concentrations, aging temperatures and their relationships can be predicted. The size and the concentration of GP zones calculated with defined composition and aging temperature accord with the experimental results well.