Influence of silver additions on the thermal behavior of the Cu-8 mass% Al alloy

The influence of additions of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 mass% Ag on the thermal behavior of the Cu-8 mass% Al alloy was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The results indicate that the presence of silver introduces new thermal events, due to the formation of a silver-rich phase and, for additions of 10 and 12 mass% Ag, it is possible to verify the formation of the gamma (1) phase (Cu9Al4) and the metastable transitions which are only observed in alloys with a minimum of 9 mass% Al.